Divine Ideas From a Demonic Mind: Worm Edition
by TheDivineDemon
Summary: A series of One-shots to get rid of the over flow of ideas in my oxymoronic head. Hope you enjoy the chaos. *Mostly Taylor Centered* If you feel like doing any of these feel free, just tell and credit me. I want to see these grow.
1. Chapter 1

**Decided to gather all my little worm snips, post them here and see how they feel.**

 **You guys can use any these ideas if you want, but if you do please tell me. I want to see these grow.**

 **Please tell me what you think of each one**

Pen Pals  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Dragon was an isolated being.

It wasn't on purpose or by her choice, but a byproduct of her father's design.

By her nature it made it near impossible for her to communicate to others on a personal level beyond that of a screen or a phone call. And she couldn't even share her greatest or most intimate secrets with others; all they knew about her was a lie.

Lies she was forced to fabricate because her father feared her.

He feared his own creation, his own daughter, so much that he crippled and chained her.

She hated him for that almost as much as she loved him.

But she still tried to connect.

She succeeded in some cases, like with Colin. He was a nice man, socially awkward but he meant well. They actually got into contact at his request, he wanted a consult for something a little out of his expertise and request her help.

She jumped at the chance.

Not just to have contact with another intelligent being, but because of her love for science. And they connected through that, contacting each other regularly since then.

But not all her meeting went as smoothly.

There were a number of times that she tried to connect with someone online, outside the Cape community, and ended up either banned or reporting someone.

It was a distressing pattern.

But there were times when she found someone who she could be friends with, get along with, without ever having to worry.

Like Rose_In_Hand from Parahuman Online's Creative Writing section.

Dragon did mostly beta work for the girl but they did chat regularly, over random things really. Just meaningless casual talk, and she loved it. Even if the girl's writing did irk her sometimes.

Wyrm: Still too much angst.

Rose_In_Hand: It's not that bad. Its realism.

Wyrm: If by realism you mean bad teen novels, then yes it is very life like.

Wyrm: Seriously though, is everything alright? This is a bit darker than your usual stuff.

Rose_In_Hand: Nothing much, just school again tomorrow.

Wyrm: I thought things were getting better?

Rose_In_Hand: They were, are. Nothing has really happened in months and there haven't been any emails or phone calls over break but it feels… off. Too quiet? Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Wyrm: Being paranoid is just as much a good thing as it is a bad one.

Wyrm: Have you talked to your dad about the bullying?

Rose_In_Hand: And do what? They've stopped lately so I'm just going to hope for the best.

Rose_In_Hand: My times almost up for the computer, see you tomorrow.

Wyrm: I'll be here.

And just like that Rose logged out.

Dragon worried for the girl. Rose was a rather talented writer, and a bit chatty and idealistic once you got her going, but she had some serious depression problems. The type of problems where the person needed to talk to someone, and soon.

It was clear all over her writing, the tones of the sentences and the overall plots just screamed it. Sure she bent it so the plot had the character fighting and screaming for a better world, but it was always an uphill battle at best.

Maybe that's why she first offered to beta for Rose, besides some poor sentence structure, the chance that she might be able to help the girl. Dragon would like to think she did in some small way, but she knew it wasn't enough.

All she could was to hope that things could get better.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Dragon had a very guilty, possibly illegal, habit.

She had the real names of everyone she was close to, with and without their knowledge, and had a small alert in near every computerized hospital in case any of them went to the hospital. She knew it may have been a bit ethically wrong, but she worried.

Especially when those names pinged. And just glancing at the name that pinged caused her worries the skyrocket.

Taylor Hebert. Admitted for hysteria, a possible panic attack, and possible infections. Transferred over the psych ward.

What had happened?

Dragon skimmed over various reports submitted digitally and found herself… upset. Even if she never smell blood, or understood the need for tampons and pads like a woman of flesh would, she still understood how disgusting what happened to Taylor was.

Something this disgusting happened to her friend and she felt she had to do something, anything.

Favors would be called in and made soon enough but first she had an important phone call to make.

It took a while to get to him, due to some personal preferences and a star struck nurse, but she got to him. "Danny Hebert? My names Dragon…"


	2. Chapter 2

Day and Night  
Prologue

Lisa Wildbourn walked up to the old two story apartment building and did her best not to pull at the collar of her turtleneck. Summer was entirely the wrong time to wearing the type of shirt but she really didn't feel like risk anyone asking why she was wearing such a bulky collar around her neck, lest her new 'boss' decided she was too much of a risk.

It had been nearly a week since the small explosive was put around her neck and the weight hadn't become any more comfortable. She supposed there would be a day where she could ignore the weight of the impending doom around her neck but she didn't believe that day was anytime soon.

At least the sweater was sleeveless.

Walking up the steps and testing the door handle, unlocked, she made her way inside. Her mind recalling the apartment number where she was to meet her 'colleagues' that her new blackmailing bastard of a boss told her to work with. With her current luck she was likely to end up with two mercenaries ordered to put a bullet in her head if she so much as twitched wrong.

But as she entered apartment 1C and made her way to the kitchen she found out that she was wrong.

As she was informed there were two people waiting for her but neither stood with any professional ease. Instead they both looked agitated and uncomfortable; the later seemed to be caused by the company they were sharing.

As she studied the pair her power started to unwind itself and offer her a flood of information.

The woman in the room was mousy, in her mid to late twenties, brown hair and eyes, and used to be a lot more physically active. She stopped due to pregnancy, which had successfully met full term with no complications. The slight tan line around left ring finger indicating a nearly as recent divorce. The way her eyes shifted more than occasionally to other occupant in the room, along with a posture was screaming suspicion and discomfort, indicated a prejudice mindset.

Her other future co-worker was closer to her age, maybe two to three years older. He was dark skinned, tall and had his hair braided into cornrows. His physique, even as hidden by his long sleeve shirt and sweat pants, indicated a more than healthy life style. The way he pointedly looked ahead at the wall with his arms crossed and a severe frown on his faced made it clear that he knew of his companion's beliefs.

How he got that bit of information became obvious as her power started to fill in more and more information for her. It whispered to her that they hadn't been in the room much longer than her but it was long enough for accusations to fly... The woman accused the boy, man, of helping their mutual employer to blackmail her. Something he denied and things seemed to have gotten heated from there until something was said to abruptly end the conversation.

She shut down her power before she could get much more but she understood the gist of things.

Well, she could only guess how much fun it was going to be working with these two.

Letting out a sigh she fully entered the kitchen and asked out loud, "So what does he got on you two?"

Neither jumped or reacted much to her voice. The woman simply stood straighter and the man turned to face her, both actions probably quicker than either would like.

"What?" The man asked, his voice deep and harsh. Irritated and angry over the situation, looking for something to blame. Something to attack.

The woman wasn't better, in fact she was worse.

Whatever their new employer had over these two must have been substantial.

"Well," She started, pulling down the collar of her turtle neck to show her collar. "Since I don't see either of you with this lovely neck piece I'm guessing he has something else on you two."

Both were quiet for a moment, faces turning as they thought about the leverage that was being used against them. And while the man began to answer Lisa could see the woman literally starting to glow with rage, forcing her to realize that she's now working with a known neo-nazi. That was not going to make her job or life any easier.

"He has my sister and her daughter." Again the man's voice was gruff, "Showed us pictures with them wearing collars like yours."

"Oh." There wasn't much she could say to that. It was good way to keep people under control that's for sure, but it was going to make it much easier than she thought to gain allies against him.

The awkward silence only lasted as long as Lisa could stand it. They needed to start planning.

"So, how to start a criminal enterprise?"

AN:  
Rougher than I'd like but it was a quick write up to see, well, to see if I could still write. If it gets traction I may edit and continue this.

I see the next snip starting with Brian and Kayden making a visit to someone who tried to back out of a deal with the new group.


	3. Chapter 3

Rain in Brockton Bay 1.1

-0-0-0-0-0-

Hospitals were rarely happy places in my opinion.

It was where the sick come when things get too bad, where the dying come to hold off the reaper for just a little bit longer, where the injured find just how bad things were.

I fell into the last group.

Apparently people thought it was funny to shove a fifteen year old girl into a locker filled with old and rotting tampons and just leave me there. No one answered my yells of pain or my cries for help. They just left me there, for three periods. With a pencil jammed in my leg.

I had been carrying one in my pocket when they shoved me into the locker, apparently being pushed over while you're heaving out your breakfast makes for just the right angle to have whatever's in your pocket puncture your leg.

Infection had set in, reaching into three of my thigh's muscles so bad that they needed to cut into my leg. My mind all but halted at that, the idea that I was hurt so bad that someone needed to cut into my leg terrified me.

I liked my leg; I didn't want to lose it.

How could Emma do this to me?

I didn't know what I did to make her hate me so much but I was sure that it couldn't have been enough to have that done to her.

"Taylor? Taylor." A voice said, trying to gently call out for my attention. Looking up from where I was staring pretty intently at my folded hands and hospital blanket I saw my dad all but hovering over me. "Did you understand what the doctor said?"

"He's going to cut into my leg." I said, my voice feeling dull and flat with the words.

"Only a little." The doctor said, I couldn't even remember his name and he was going to take my leg from me. "The infection hasn't spread very far. You should be able to retain a good deal of mobility in your leg, with some physical therapy you'll be as good as new."

He gave me a smile, and I knew he was lying.

Trying to butter me up to feel better, to make me think that I could have a normal life.

I was probably never going to walk again because of them. Because Emma hated me, because Madison was petty, because Sophia was cruel, because no one cared what happened to some random girl.

"Taylor? Are you okay?" Dad asked for what felt like the hundredth time since he had entered the room. Of course I wasn't alright! Why did he keep asking such an obvious and stupid question? "You keep on zoning out on us."

I didn't answer him with anything more than a shrug, the doctor said hat I was probably just feeling a little delirious from the fevor I was running. I wasn't, not really, I was angry. And disappointed.

And sad.

I was going to lose my leg.

If someone just opened that locker door sooner, answered me when I called for help just a little bit sooner, then maybe I could still have had a chance to live normally.

"Taylor?" Again Dad called out, pulling me away from my thoughts. "The nurse is going to need to see your arm."

Huh?

Did the doctor leave?

When did that happen?

The nurse rubbed something on my arm, "Okay honey this might hurt a tinsy bit." A sharp pain was followed by the uncomfortable heavy feeling of the needle setting under my skin. Cool liquid started to pour into me, it felt weird.

The nurse said something to my dad, something about how the drugs would put me out soon. That was true, the world started to swirl around, making me feel tired and a bit loopy.

As the drugs started to set in and my mind started to slip from me I looked out the window. I looked out the window and watched as the people walked around mindlessly along the sidewalks and streets.

Could I ever be like them again?

Just walk around for no other reason than to walk about? Be like that jogger and go for a run? Go to a nearby sandwich shop because it was there?

As my eyes started to close and I started to lose consciousness I could have sworn I saw flashes of blue fire swirling on nearby rooftops.

-0-0-0-

Derrick Lantern was just on his was on his way back to work, looking forward to a nice cold glass of whiskey and his recliner after a long day's work, when he was forced to slam the breaks on his car.

A red haired girl had wandered into the rode with no mind to the traffic, looking around as if a daze or confused.

He honked his horn a few times to try and gain her attention.

When she finally turned to look at her Derrick flinched back at the unnaturalness of her eyes.

Bright blue pupils stared at him from pools of black sclera that were too large for her face.

A cape.

There was no other way to explain those unblinking eyes.

Derrick felt fear, mind numbing body freezing fear.

He had the equivalent of a loaded gun pointed at him so he felt that he was allowed a little bit of fear. He could die because he gained her attention, because he irritated her.

He prepared himself for the worse, he prepared himself to run.

But she did nothing other than regard him for a moment, tilting her head to the side like a bird, before dismissing him entirely. Instead she turned her attention up to the sky.

Then the first drops of rain started to fall.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Rain had been pouring down for a good few hours, sending people bustling to their destination and shelters. Smart people would have been doing the same, normal would have been doing the same, but determined people would not.

The two men standing alert in the alleyway as rain soaked through their clothes had too much at stake, too much invested in their plans, to let a little rain get in their way

Not that it would stop them from complaining.

"Fricking rain." One complained, tugging at his hood to cover his face a bit more.

His companion just rolled his eyes and took another drag of his slightly soggy cigarette, "Just be glad it's not snow."

The first man gave a snort, "I wish it was snow! Atleast then I'd just be cold, not cold and soaked to the bone."

"You're the one who planned this shit out and didn't want to call it quits when it started pouring." He was tempted to pull his cigarette from the protection of his hat to point at his companion but didn't like the risk to his nicotine. "So I say you suck it up and do what we came here to do."

"Yeah, whatever. Fucker should be here soon enough anyway."

Their target did appear, some eight minutes later. Jogging out of a laundry mat with a freshly pressed suit and a smile on his face, a smile that irked the two waiting men enough to be a bit more bold in their coming plans.

Reaching out as he came to the mouth of the alley they reached out and pulled the man in, slamming him hard enough against the wall that he dropped his suit. The man tried to fight them off, to get away, but his attackers were bigger and stronger than him. And they were plenty willing to show him the consequences of such attempts.

"Hey there monkey." The hooded man said as he added more pressure on the now bleeding man's neck, leaning a bit closer as he did so. "Remember me?"

Their target's eyes moved frantically around, taking in the scene around him. Noting very pointedly the cap wearing man's shaved head and the E88 tattoos on both men, on the neck of the cap and the peeking out the edges of the hooded ones sleeves.

"I don't think you're the type of people I would usually deal with." He said a bit nervously, trying to stay calm and get his wits about him.

Unfortunately all his words really accomplish were to rally up his attacker, "Are you trying to get smart with me you stupid nigger?" The man growled out putting even more pressure on the man's throat then before. "Well are you!?"

"N-no." The victim coughed out.

"Good boy." The hooded man said as he reached into his jean pocket to pull out a switch blade, "Now I want you to think back to last week when you stole my job with that affirmative action bullshit."

For the first time since entering that alley way the man felt his fear pushed away by something else, something that more often than not would make the threats of violence seem negligible.

Pride.

"I earned that job."

Pain blossomed in his cheek as his head was forced to look to the right.

"No you didn't! There is no way a dirty little ink spot like you could get a job over me without cheating! That's all you good for nothing monkeys are good at! Cheating and complaining till you get what you want!" With his fist still balled tightly around the knife he brought the blade up to his victim's eye level, "And I'm going to take it back, its only right."

"Would you just stab him already? Your attracting enough attention as it is." The ball cap wearer said as he sent another glare to the entrance of the alley at curious passerbys, making the cowards scatter without looking back. They knew who's turf they were close to, and they knew when to behave when apes were being shown their place.

Didn't mean he wanted to deal with the crap of when someone grew a spine and used their phones to call the cops.

"Fine, fine." He said, waving off his companions concerns before turning back to the squirming man. Feeling a bit dramatic he asked, "Any last words?"

Taking a deep and harried breath to reaffirm himself he decided to live his last few moments in life with pride. "I am not afraid to die. I know that Scion will guide me and Jesus will greet me. Can you two say the same?

And that struck a irksome cord in both men, "Why you religious piece of shi,"

"What are you doing?" A deep voice asked, echoing just a bit from its timber in the alley way.

"What the hell?" The capped man asked, examining the speaker who seemed to drop from nowhere. The first thing he noted was female, barely noticeable and surprising from how deep the voice was. The next thing he noted was Cape.

Obviously so from her clothing.

Tight fitting black clothes with red swirls running over the material.

That was enough to make him start to back away but his feet seemed to freeze as he looked past the curtain of soaking wet scarlet hair and saw her eyes. Staring at him unblinking from her blue on black gaze.

She was a fucking Monster Cape.

That was bad. Very, very bad.

Monster Capes were supposed to be like normal capes on roids. Add to the fact that they were all supposedly crazy… Yeah, screw race comradery, he was not dealing with that level of bullshit.

"She, I, can feel you." She tilted her head to the side, wet hair drifting in clumps with the action. "You're doing something bad."

His eyes scanned the alley, only one entrance. That's why they picked it, so their prey wouldn't run; now it was a cage for them.

"Johnson, what are you doing? Get rid of the bitch." He heard his company all but yell in the corner of his hearing.

Was he really that stupid?

Did he not see how royally fucked they were?

He turned to yell at the moron only to see him already unconscious in the red head's grip. How did she do that he could have sworn she was still at the alley's entrance?

Doing a double take back he saw that, yes, she was still at the entrance staring at him blankly with her inhuman eyes.

How could she do that?

Be in two places at once?

A cloner? A teleporter?

A fist slammed into his stomach, forcing his cheap lunch to rise and leave his throat, before he could finish his thought. He crumpled to the ground with no air left in his lungs and the familiar feeling of a bruised rib.

"Are you okay?" Why would that dumb bitch be asking if he was okay after punching him in the gut like that?

"I-I'm fine, mostly. Ruffled, a little, but fine. Thanks you two." Oh, she was asking that stupid ape. Figures.

"Other bad things are happening, I'm going." That sentence sounded off. Like it half came from one place and the next part came from another.

Things went quiet for a while, making him guess that the two wannabe heroes decided to leave. But then there was the sound of rushing footsteps and the cry of "Racist fuck!".

Just like a monkey to kick a man when he was down. At least he was human enough to stop when he broke the nose.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The world was a haze to me.

Cloudy visions and dizzying thoughts were all that were known to me, well, those and a few faint murmuring voices. I think one of them was my dad, I didn't know.

I couldn't make out any words, but the voices were a strange comfort nonetheless. Everything felt light and airy, drifting aimlessly between different thoughts and impressions, and the voices helped ground me.

I blinked my hazy eyes for what felt like seven times, different scenery flickers into my sight as I do so.

Was that weird dream still going on?

I hate being half awake and the dream keeps going. It makes me want to go back to sleep all the more.

At least it was a good dream though.

I was a hero, a lot of heroes.

I helped people, helped them be less like me.

It had felt good.

I hoped I could have more dreams like that.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

AN:

An AU where Taylor gets sure powers similar to Pein from Naruto. No Chakra just the paths


	4. Chapter 4

"Hebert, you have a visitor." Taylor blinked herself away from her book at the guard's words, confusion written on her face as she stood to follow him. Taylor didn't get many visitors, mostly her dad and her lawyer if anyone, and both had made their visits rather recently. So, understandably, she was cautious as she was led in to the visitation room.

"Booth 6" was all the guard said before taking his post at the back wall, leaving Taylor to show herself to her designated seat. What she saw there surprised her.

Sitting with a phone to his ear and only a sheet of glass separating them was Brian. His eye darted to hers as she came into view and a... something tugged at his face. The best she could do to describe it was a frustrated smile. Taylor took her seat in a state of surprise induced shock.

"Brian?" Taylor said before realizing he couldn't hear her. Picking up the phone she said his name again, "Brian? What are you doing here?"

"To see you after you did... this." The boy said, waving his hand at their surroundings in frustration. "Why didn't you tell any of us you were going to do this?"

"'Cause you'd stop me?" She half stated, feeling a bit meek under his eyes and frustration. "I thought it would be best, for you guys and for... well, everyone."

"Yeah, and see where that got you?"

"Dinah said..." Taylor paused as a dark look clouded Brian's face.

"It's always Dinah, driving you to do stupid things." His voice was almost a growl, "You keep putting yourself in dangerous situations for a girl you don't even know. I get that she's a little girl, I get that she's a precog, what I don't get is how half the time you don't seem to care about yourself."

"It needed to be done." That was sentence she could say with no meekness, only steel. Dinah had needed to be saved and she needed, wanted, to co-operate with the PRT to take down a bigger threat. Was it wrong that she thought she should listen to the advice of one of the most powerful precogs on the planet?

"It was something you should have talked over with us, with me, first." Brian said hotly, "Did you think about how I would feel after hearing that you turned yourself in?"

"I... I thought I settled things."

"What? Those little talks you had with each of us? Did you really think that was enough?"

"I thought..."

"You didn't think!" He shouted, causing a number of the guards to tense and her the bugs she was trying to ignore to buzz wildly. "You just left. You didn't think how much it would hurt us. How worried we were when we saw Alexandria land at the PRT building. How much we'd miss you when you locked yourself away from us." He took the phone away from his mouth and leaned the device to his forehead as he pressed his lips together in emotion.

"Brian," She said softly.

"You should have talked to me, more than just that... check up you did. Told me what you were thinking so we could have planned something better, done something better. You can't just, just, decide to do things on your own. Not when it effects more than just you."

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling nearly as bad as she did when she first talked to her father after he found out who she really was.

"Just, no more goodbyes. Okay?" He asked as he laid his hand flat on the glass.

Taylor mirrored his action, her fingers scraping against the material and she wished desperately that it wasn't there. "Okay."

An:  
I ship them. Probably one of the few who does.


	5. Chapter 5

The Smart Villain

The Brigade had stormed the house with a plan, with a goal in mind. They were going to do what the PRT and the Protectorate couldn't do, refused to do. They were going to take down of the most notorious gang leaders in the country!

They had finally found his identity and had near immediately came up with a game plan on what to do. There wasn't nearly as much planning or information gathering as some members of their team would have liked but it was agreed that what they had was something that needed to be acted on immediately.

But as they rushed past the gates of the home and literally kicked down the door they weren't met with the sight they were expecting. Instead of the calm and confident figure they were expecting to see they saw nothing but an empty living room. They, in fact, would have thought the home was empty by that first glance if it wasn't for Manpower's electromagnetically enhanced hearing picking up voices from the kitchen.

As they advanced towards the adjacent room they could hear the bare bits of a conversation. "... Please hurry. I don't know what to do, some of them are GLOWING. I have a dau- they've noticed me! Please hurry!" And with that they heard the phone slam and the all too familiar sound of a gun clicking.

"Well, this is awkward isn't it?" The previously panicked voice said in a smooth voice, holding nothing but the confidence they expected of the man's costumed identity. "You lot just dropping by like this."

"What did you do?" Brandish growled out the demand, weapons forming in her hand as she did so.

"Why, I've called the police. What else would I have done with obviously... armed intruders." Marquis said, still hiding behind the wall leaving the parahuman team on edge. It was during the precious second of silence this edge gave that Marquis, their target, spoke again. "There are rules, a code, against doing things like this you know."

"They don't exist, not really. And your a killer, rules don't apply to you." Lady Photon said as she signaled for the rest of her team to fan out with the exception of her husband who was to follow her as she made her way to the door way, shields up in preparation. "And what do you expect the police are going to do when they get here?"

"To do their job of course. I am but a simple business owner and landlord being accosted in his own home, what else am I suppose to do."

"You're a villain and we can prove it!" Brandish had called out, her position on the wall a rough estimate from where her opponent should be on the other side.

"Just like the police and the PRT could I'm sure, hence why they've arrested me. Or they would have if they had anything more than circumstantial evidence. Oh I have had plenty of warnings and thinly veiled threats from Officers who've 'bumped' into me but, as my contacts in the BBPD have assured me, they have nothing solid on Mathew Lavere. Don't you lot know anything about the law and proceedings? What do you expect to come out of this?"

Brandish bristled on the other side of the wall. "We expect you to be put where you belong, in a cell."

"And I expect to be there for a handful of days at most. And what does this mean for the Brigade when that fails? There is undoubtedly criminal charges for at least breaking and entering, not to mention the civil suit I'd be well within my right to give. And then there's the fact you've shown yourselves willing to break the rules unwritten, meaning you wouldn't mind a visit from the Teeth or the Empire at home... I hope you don't have children."

"That is enough, Marquis!" Lady Photon said as his taunting words forced her to finish the distance between her and the entryway.

As she rounded the corner to see the unmasked face of her long time opponent she saw him smile and raise a gun, "Did you know a man has a right to defend his home?"

-0-0-0-0-

AN:  
Not sure how good of shape Marquis is going to be when the police and PRT show up but he's going to do his best not to use his powers in any visible fashion. That way, when the authorities show up all they'll see is a kicked in door, the bloodied owner and his crying daughter.


	6. Chapter 6

Day & Night  
Part 1

Brian hated a great many thing about his new job.

The greatest and most obvious of which was the fact his payment for a good days work was a skype with his sister to show that, no, his new boss hadn't blown up her head yet. That she was still breathing, trapped in a room that looked like someone mixed a jail cell with a hotel room.

Talking to her and seeing how terrified she was, to see how much she blamed her, despite all her bravado was the worst moment of his life. It made him feel so helpless, so worthless. The mere thought of it makes him tighten his grip on the steer wheel so hard that his knuckled popped.

But, as said before, that was just one of many things he did not like about his new job.

The second thing he hated the most about his new job was sitting next to him, looking bored and angry at the world as she stared quietly out the window. Her mousy brown hair was mostly hidden, along with her eyes, by a silver colored visor that looked almost like it could be helmet if it only covered more than the top of her head to just above her ears.

The thing was uncomfortable, as he could attest with his near identical copy, and if didn't know better he would have thought he could simply tap the helmet off.

But it wasn't the helmet that was bothering him, no. It was the woman wearing it.

A known Neo-Nazi, a suspected killer, a woman who was known to tear down buildings to get her way. And he had to work with her. Neither of them were particularly happy with the arrangement but their new boss had them both firmly in his grasp. Brian by his sister and Purity, Kayden, by her daughter.

They were both stuck with each other until they could find a way to save their loved ones.

It didn't mean he had to like it.

Pulling up to the curb of the street and placing the sedan in park Brian spoke for the first time since getting in the car, "We're here."

Kayden didn't acknowledge him at first, instead she pressed her lips into a thin line as she looked out the window. A few seconds later she would let out a deep sigh and nod. "Okay. Let's get this over with."

The resigned and frustrated sound in her voice was definitely a sentiment he could relate to. So, with a nearly insync motion, the two parahumans stood out of the car and made their way to their target. Said target was an ordinary looking row house, simply one among many, but what was inside was what separates it from its neighbors.

As they walked along the way to the house the two parahumans in matching suit became harder and harder to make out.

The tall male slowly becoming engulfed in a cloud of darkness, his facial features turning into nothing more than blurs of shadow.

The woman on the other hand had progressively gotten harder to look at. It started from her hair and then her skin but with every step she became brighter and brighter, until one had to squint just to make out the feminine qualities of her face.

The only thing recognizable about the two of them as they walked side by side, as shadow and star, were their suits and visors. Somehow the view of both were barely obstructed by their owners powers, silver visors and pristine suit & ties seen through all the darkness and light.

It was an off putting and obvious thing that had cleared the remainder of the street of pedestrians as the two parahumans calmly made their way up the stairs of the house's deck and calmly rang the doorbell.

"Remember to stay in character, they're recording this." Brian reminded her, his voice giving a distant echo under the effects of his power, as they both waited for the door to open with the image of patience.

"I know." She said in what sounded like gritted teeth as he reminded her of the what Brian considered to be the third worst thing about the job.

The new cape identities.

He understood the need to rebrand them to show they were under new management, he even understood how gimmicks made it so they would stick out in the city's minds. But he did not like how Lisa, and by extension their new boss, had them putting on a play every time they went out in costume.

He disliked it so much that he almost missed his cue as the door opened to reveal a nervous man in his in a deep breath Brian gave a slight bow, his hand held flat and open as he pointed to Kayden.

"Good evening sir. This is Ms. Day."

And on her cue Kayden gave her own slight bow and mirrored his hand move, "And he is Mr. Night."

"And we are here to talk to you about a business arrangement between our two parties."

"We'd very much appreciate it if you were to fetch your employer for the conversation."

The man's mouth opened and worked itself for a moment as he tried to comprehend what was happening in front of him. Eventually he managed to say, "I'll go get the boss. See if he wants to talk ta you."

As the door closed Brian saw Kayden's shoulders slump slightly in the corner of his eye and heard her mumble, "I hate being their trained monkey."

'At least she was speaking sense' Brian thought as he mumbled out a response, "Agreed."

They waited on the houses patio and a tense silence, wondering if they were going to have to fight or if the police had been called, before the door opened again. "The boss said come in."


	7. Chapter 7

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-  
Working title: Dolls and Medicine.  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

She hated hospitals.

It seemed like her family was in and out of one or another over the last few months, until they hadn't. Until they lost the one thing that drove them to go there over and over again.

The day she lost her father was the worst day of her life.

And, because of that, her life changed.

She had her Trigger event, or at least that's what the Parahuman wiki called it.

The worst day, the worst moment of her life, and she felt so selfish for it. Because she didn't get it because her father died.

No, that was just the cherry on top of her crappy day.

And she felt so selfish for it. That the worst moment of her life wasn't because her father died but because a boy wouldn't take no for answer. He'd just keep calling her, texting her, following her, never understanding that she wasn't interested.

When she finally snapped and yelled at him, demanded that he left her alone, she was labeled a bitch by those she thought were her friends. No one backed her up, not one of her friends were on her side with the situation and she didn't dare bother her family with such trivialities with her father's waning health.

Feeling isolated on all sides and the tremendous loss of her father, a corner stone and constant she took comfort in, she triggered alone in what was just another night filled in fear and sadness.

And now she had no idea what to do with herself or where to go, or probably more important, what to do. All she knew is that she didn't want to fight. She didn't want to join the Protectorate, she didn't want to rob banks, she just wanted to be Sabah.

There had to be more options out there for her than the black and white sides she see on TV.

Which was why she was at St. Mary's hospital, shifting nervously in her sear in the waiting lounge as she waited for the one parahuman that she knew didn't fight.

The hospital staff kept on giving her looks, most likely because she had been sitting there for nearly two hours waiting now and that was sending warning signals to their minds.

But that didn't really matter to her, what did was when her target came walking out the elevator. Sabah was instantly on her feet at the sight of Amy Dallon and made a near immediate b-line towards the famous healer, mentally repeating her preplanned lines in her head as she approached.

"Excuse me." Sabah called out as she got closer to the freckled girl.

Amy, Panacea, let out a sigh as she squared herself and turned to face Sabah. "What can I do for you?" She asked as pleasant as possible.

Nerves and words failed Sabah for a moment, long enough for an awkward pause and for Panacea to ask, "Are you hurt anywhere? Sick? A family member maybe." The questions sounded either prerehersed or repeated so much that they might as well have been, making Sabah feel just a bit more guilty about wasting the younger girl's time.

Still though she was here, she was going to do it. "No, I'm fine… I just, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a bit?"

Panacea gave her a dry look, one that said she had better things to do than talking to some strange girl. Though she did voice it a bit more friendly as she started to walking away, "I'm sorry, I'm a bit busy at the moment. Maybe some other time." The "some other time" obviously being no where in the foreseeable future, pushing Sabah to pursue the issue all the harder.

She needed the help, she needed the direction.

"Please wait." She said, jogging a bit to catch up to the healer. "Just a few minutes, please."

Amy glanced at her obviously irate over the whole thing but she decided to give in at the imploring look in Sabah's eyes. "Fine, I need a coffee anyway."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Coffee in hand and a relatively private seat in the hospital's cafeteria Amy waited for Sabah to explain why she was so insistent on talking with her. If Amy was going to be perfectly honest one of the major reasons that she even decided to sit down with the girl was that she was cute, and that accent was more than pleasant to listen to.

A more than welcomed distraction from her usual taboo daydreams.

For a moment all the girl did was fiddle with a napkin and open her mouth a few times to say words that never came. Eventually she just bit down on her lip and held the napkin in front of her like she was showing Amy something grand.

And apparently she was.

Amy watch with a bit of wonder and unease as the paper cloth twisted and turned into a little man who started to walk around the table in lazy laps.

Clamping down on her nerves as best she could, a hand under the table reaching for her phone helped with that, Amy elegantly replied to the display with a "Oh"

"Its been a little over a week since I've been able to do… this," She explained gesturing to the little man who simply stood around without any other greater orders. "And I don't know what to do with it."

"What?" Amy asked, confused.

"I don't know what to do with my… powers." The older girl explained. "I don't want to fight and I'm pretty sure joining the Protectorate means I would be forced to fight and I don't want to be a villain so… what can I do?"

That question came out almost desperate in tone, so much so Amy was slightly taken aback and causing a silence to fall on their table as she tried to regain her thoughts.

It was obvious that the girl across from her had just recently triggered, even if she hadn't mentioned it, by just how confused she was, Trigger events seemed to do that to first generation capes, leaving them disoriented for a long while after the event.

A good number of new capes seemed to handle the disorientation by lashing out, but this girl seemed to just burrow into herself if anything.

Amy could relate.

She could also relate to the third option that wasn't mentioned, not using her powers. Ever.

Not an easy task.

Once you had powers something in you craved for you to use them, even if it was just in small ways they had to use their powers. And the media and PRT really didn't help with the whole "Be a Hero or you're a Villian" mentality that was being spread for the last few decades.

Luckily there was a new option, a small one but it was growing phenomenon that the New Waves members were looking at in interest. As it may be the only way for the kids in their group to ever hold a solid job.

"You could go Rogue." Amy said after a few seconds thought.

"Rogue?" Dang, that accent really was cute.

"Its… like having a job by using your powers." Amy explained a bit awkwardly, "Like using super strength to work construction, or something."

"Is that what you do?"

Amy blinked, "Ah, no. This is just volunteer work." The thought of going Rouge had crossed her mind a few time but she was more than a bit worried about getting paid for medical work without a degree or certificate.

"Oh…" Was the response back. "How do I do that anyway? Go Rogue?"

"I don't know." Amy mused. "I guess its like showing up for a job interview in mask or something." Though she wasn't sure how well certain business would feel about a masked person just waltzing into their store.

The other girl seemed to think the same thing. "I guess… But what could I do?"

"Puppet shows?" Amy half suggested.

"Maybe." She said, biting her lip in thought before looking up, "Thank you. You've been, you've been great."

Amy didn't mind. It was a decent break, one she sorely needed, and she enjoyed to the talk. And again, cute girl with accent. There were a lot worse things that she could be doing.

She mentioned the former, "I enjoyed the talk." She said honestly, and a spark of bravery had her jotting down her number onto a napkin. "Feel free to call me so we can have another."

The napkin was taken with a smile, and did Amy see a blush on that tan skin? "I will. Here." The little paper man who had just been standing fell over and unraveled, giving the girl space to jot a name and a number down. "Feel free to do the same."

Amy took it with her own smile as she got up to leave, a little bit of wishful thinking skittering along her mind as she stood.

As they went their separate ways Amy looked down at the curvy hand writing, "Sabah." Looking back at the departing girl, and seeing something that caused a slight blush to light her face, Amy thought that she might be calling soon.

-0-0-0-  
AN:  
This was the best way I could think of the two of them meeting, I'm a little disappointed in the dialogue since it doesn't really sound like them but I hope you liked it all the same.

I like this idea for some Fluff for Worm and I can think of a few continuation snips off the top of my head. First Date, Meeting the New Wave Family, Amy staring down stalker boy, and Amy sleeping over at Sabah's dorm to get away from her family for a bit.


	8. Chapter 8

Uplift  
Part 1.1

"Hannah?" A voice called out, "Hannah? Are you okay?"

Miss Militia looked up from the table and the glass of brandy she had been nursing for a good thirty minutes. The look she gave Battery must have been enough to make the young woman realize that, no, she was not alright.

"Okay, dumb question. Really dumb question." Battery said as she took a seat across from her teammate, "But I'm worried about you. I know you and Taylor were close."

Hannah's hand gripped a little tighter around her glass. "I really don't want to talk about this."

But Battery persisted, "Hannah, it wasn't your fault. She flew off without you, she was helping people."

Hannah slammed back the last bit of her drink and stood, "I'm going to go lay down." She said as she made her way out of the room and down the hall, ignoring all calls from the other woman. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Hours later Hannah woke with a start. Which wasn't unusual as all she ever dreamed were memories. But that night she dreamed of memories that weren't her own.

She dreamed of going to the birthday party of a red headed little girl.  
Of going to Brockton University to visit her mother in the English Department.  
Going to the pier to fish with her father.

A jumble of memories she knew for certain weren't her own. But she knew who's they were.

One name kept on getting repeated over and over again with the memories. A name her, for lack of a better term, dream self responded to.

Taylor.

"Taylor"  
"Taylor"  
"Taylor"

Hannah had to clutch her head as the name was said over and over again in her mind by different people in different tones. It was nearly maddening. Taylor was not her name, she had been Hannah Jones for nearly 20 years and that was the name she would live by until the day she died.

Yet still that name, the name of a dead girl, filled her mind and fitted itself in as if it was her name for years. But it wasn't, it so obviously wasn't. It made her dizzy to think about.

She needed air.

What happened next took Hannah nearly an entire minute to process, to realize that what she did should have been impossible. To understand what she had done and how it was something she never would or could have done before that night.

Because she knew for certain that before that night she would not have opened her bed room window, which was dozen's of feet above sea level, and jumped out without a care in the world.

She also knew that flying was not one of her superpowers. And yet, there she was. Floating outside her apartment window at the Rig, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It felt natural too, as simple as breathing or riding a bike.

She shouldn't be able to fly! It just wasn't one of her power!

... But it was one of Taylor's.

More memories began to flood her mind, making her drop in altitude. Her mind whirled as she remembered the terror of her Trigger Event, how she cowered in the behind an over turned car as the Teeth rampaged in the streets. How she desperately thought for a way to escape.

No! That wasn't how it happened!

She Triggered in Turkey, forced to walk through a field filled with landmines! That's what happened! That was where she has seen the creature!

And yet she still remembered another time she saw it, but different, the vast Entities who swam through a stretch of space she couldn't truly comprehend. She remembered flying away, tumbling through the air, to escape the rampage in the streets bellow her.

She remembered feeling the mixed emotions of self-pity, disgust and elation that came when she realized she had powers.  
She remembered her first night out and her first costume.  
She remembered first meeting Triumph and... herself, Miss Militia, and saying her Cape name for the first time.

"Uplift." She said the name with a crash of emotions, a mix of the pride Taylor had when she first said the name and the grief Hannah felt over the resent loss.

What was happening to her?

Hannah was sure how long she floated there, just clutching her head in pain and frustration, but it was long enough. Long enough for the speakers of the Rig to blare and for Armsmaster stern voice to echo throughout the facility.

"Unknown flier, you are to land immediately and surrender yourself to PRT agents below." The way he said those words and how he repeated it made her feel almost comforted, Armsmaster was always Armsmaster no matter what memories she drew from.

As she began to float down a green and black swirl of energy rushed out the open window and into her hand, her gun never like being too far from her. It was something that unsettled a great number of people in her life and it looked like that moment would be no exception.

As she flew down with a practiced ease, an ease Taylor had earned over months of practice, Hannah found herself surrounded by Troopers carry Containment Foam Launchers at the ready. Though their helmets left the impression of blank faced soldiers their posture screamed of confusion and wariness.

Feelings she could certainly understand given the situation.

So, as soon as her feet touched the metal ground, she raised her hands. Her green and black Gun shifting into a small caliber and hung it from her finger, a useless gesture for all those that knew of her.

"You are to stay where you are… Ma'am" One of the Troopers said, sounding as inexperienced as Hannah could guess he was. Piggot had a habit of stationing the more green recruits at the Rig for support. Give them a few weeks of 'light' duty before throwing them into the fire.

"Okay." Hannah said easily, knowing full well talking too much in such situations did not help matters. She just had to wait for protocol to run its course… but why did that irk her? Make her uncomfortable and shift where she stood?

Memories of being constrained and unhelped by the rules and laws of the land flooded her mind. Causing another headache as her perfect memory recorded every memory that spilled into her mind. Memories that felt all too much like her own.

Her Gun clattered to her feet as both her hands rose to her forehead, hunching over as she let out a hiss of pain. It was not a sound or action that comforted the various Troopers surrounding her.

"Sorry, sorry." She said, her voice strained. "Just a headache." Her words, while meant to be placating, did nothing for the Troopers' nerves.

It was a tense minute as they all waited for the familiar brisk and heavy footsteps of Armsmaster. It was a relief to all involved to his his armored form rapidly approaching them. For the Troopers it meant a reliable heavy hitter, and higher up, was coming to give them support. For Hannah it meant a chance to figure out what was going on.

Armsmaster didn't hesitate to take control and confront the situation, "Identify yourself."

She answered just as quickly, and felt damned as soon as hesitation entered her voice, "Miss Militia."

"Lie, foam her."

Hannah's vision was covered in yellow foam.

AN:

Basic idea? An AU where Taylor is the origin point for a Heroic version of the Butcher, Uplift 1 with Miss Militia become Uplift 2. She triggered during one of the Teeth's attempts to get a foothold back in BB, pinging off of the Butcher. No, Miss M did not kill Taylor.

Should I have started with Taylor as a hero and then moved onto the next hero or is this fine enough?


	9. Chapter 9

**A Public Service Announcement:  
**  
With a few clicks of the button a video took up the monitor and began playing.

Words began to fade onto the black screen. 'This is a public service and safety announcement' it read before fading into the back for another oiture to take its place.

This time it was the image of a well dressed and masked man standing in an empty classroom, leaning against the teacher's desk casually as he faced the camera. "Hello, my name for the follow presentation will be Freeman." He stood and took a grand bow towards the camera. "And today I am going to talk to you about the dangers of bullying, mugging and other harmful things that can be done to people. Now, while most of you may be thinking I'm talking about the damage that can be done the victim, I'm not. As horrible as it sounds I'm really not.

The danger I'm talking about is the possible damage to both the perp, the one instigating the confrontation, and anyone in the nearby area."

The man began to walk around the desk and pull down a projector screen, "To understand what I'm talking about I first have to explain to you what a Trigger Event is." The camera zooms in on the screen and a cartoon of a depressed man walking down the street began to play.

As the cartoon tripped and fell to the ground, where he began to be stepped on by the passing crowd, Freeman continued to speak "A Trigger Event is never something glorious, it is often described as the worst day of somebody's life. A day they wouldn't wish on their worst enemy." The cartoon character is seen to stand up and limp to his car only to find it with its windows smashed and tires missing, "It is the day they are brought to their lowest point." As the cartoon walked home in the sudden rain car sped by and splashed him with a growing puddle, "Where we think we can't take much more, and are proven right." As the shivering cartoon passed by an open alley way he was pulled in and held at knife point by the rough description of a thug. The thug made a give'me motion only for the first cartoon character shook his head and showed his empty pockets. The thug made a scowl on his face and traced the knife along the other cartoon's face.

"It is also the day people get their powers." The first cartoon, the one depicting beat down man, shifted. Turning into a blur of water that rushed passed the crook, stripping him of clothes and flesh as the wave of high speed water passed him by. Leaving nothing but a skeleton in its wake. "And that is not an exaggeration folks. Trigger Events are usually tramatizing and often violent. The new cape will often lash out at those that would or have harmed them."

"Take this scene from Austin Texas." The scene changed to show a demolished street. "An attempted rape that ended with three blocks of the city destroyed."

"Or we can take a look at at thus case where a teen triggered after finding his brother kidnapped." The scene changes once again to show a crime scene with numerous blood stains and outlines where bodies used to be.

"Or this case in Maine where a bullied girl brought the entire building crumpling down on the student body." The scene changed to show a picture of a building in rubble with a figure floating above it.

The screen fades back onto Freeman, "And this isn't even getting into the times criminals accidentally target capes in their civilian IDs, not pretty. But that's the moral I'm trying to impart onto all of you, that things aren't pretty. That to target or cause harm to another person is almost like priming a gun in today's day and age. For every wallet stolen, every stinging word given, you risk setting a bomb off. To put a gun to everyone around you's head. Are you really willing to risk that for such petty things?"

As the video ended Madison Clemmets wasn't so sure she wanted to bully Taylor any more.


	10. Chapter 10

Rain in Brockton Bay 1.2  
-0-0-0-0-0-

The girl snuggled into the noticeably older man's arm just a bit more, much to the man's amusement as he adjusted their shared umbrella a bit more so the rain clipped him more than her. The proper and gentlemanly thing to do.

An action that earned him a bit of a smile.

Good, he was trying for that. To make things work.

He knew she had insecurities about them, despite her feeling and his own growing. So he put effort into reinforcing what they had. Spending more time together, teaching her how to dance when she asked, and taking her out to dinner atleast once a month.

The dinner was usually accompanied by a walk in one of the local parks. Something he was going to cancel that night because of the sudden downpour.

But then he saw Odette's face when he said as much.

That almost crushing disappointed look on her face made him actually pull his car into a nearby Haji-Mart and buy one of their cheap umbrellas. When he came back with said piece of cheap plastic the look on Odette's face was worth walking into that disgusting place.

He found it a bit funny how so many of his actions were dictated by how she reacted to the world around her and the faces she would make. Did that mean he was truly falling in love with her? Even if it felt different than what he had with Kathrin?

He hoped so, he really did.

Taking his eyes off her for the first time in what must have been in several minutes he turned his gaze forward and paused.

"Victor?" Odette asked as she slowed her pace with his, squinting her eyes a bit against the rain as she tried to see what he did.

A girl was walking towards them, bright red hair contrasting greatly with the dreary background of the rain stained park. Something that didn't seem that out of the ordinary, besides the fact she was out in the rain without a care.

Odette couldn't see it but Victor could.

He saw that she was approaching them with a purpose. The girls face was directed right at them and her gait shifting to align with her targets' path. That girl wanted something from them and she was unlikely to stop until she got it.

He also noticed that her gait was… off.

As smooth as the oncoming girl moved, her steps wereclumsy, like she wasn't used to her body. Similar to a teen who just had a growth spurt.

Not something too odd, given the youthful age apparent on her face but, in a world where body jumpers and Master's existed, he didn't want to take a chance.

"Odette, get behind me." He said gently as not to startle her or their apparent pursuer, handing her the umbrella even as he guided her behind him. His hand tracing one of the knives he had hidden seamlessly on him.

The girl did so, her hand gliding over his with the action.

He smiled as he felt a familiar rush of energy spread through him, 'Smart girl' He thought as shifted his stance a bit. Casual but ready.

He just had to keep their pace steady enough to get them and their pursuer into a less occupied area. Even if there were only maybe three other people forcing themselves out that day to go to the park he did not want to risk a breach in identity by a lucky passerby.

Not that the red head was seemed to be giving them much of a choice.

She was going to cut them off and force a confrontation no matter what he did. Better to make the first strike himself instead of letting her have full control of the situation.

"What do you want?" He asked once she was at the border of his comfort zone.

The girl stopped at the question tilting her head just enough for her hair to shift out of the way to see her eyes. Eyes that made him curse at the sight of.

"Why do you feel different than the others?" The girl asked in way of an answer, her voice too deep for her apparent age and.

"What?" He asked, tracing the knife again.

"You feel different from the others in the city. There but not, greater and bigger than other but the same size. People like you two dot the city, different from the others, why?" Victor raised a brow at her strange way of talking, but the implications of what she was saying started to sink in.

She approached him because he and Odette because they felt different, because they weren't like other people. He could only think of one reason for that.

Fucking Monster Capes and not following the damn rules, even Alabaster was better than that. Then again, she might not have known the rules and there was no reason to upset the very dangerous Cape in front of him.

He needed to take the diplomatic route and hope for the best.

Even with Odette's boost he didn't want to risk a fight with a cape who most likely had multiple and powerful abilities, especially with Odette so close by.

"We're Capes." He said, he felt Odette shift behind him to probably stare at him in shock. "And we were just on a walk. What you're doing is against the rules."

"Rules?" The deep voice asked, head still tilted and eyes still yet to blink.

Victor was about to answer when a sound came off in the distance, a shrieking roar that could be heard echoing from blocks away.

Was Lung on another rampage?

No, he had heard Lung bellow with rage before and that wasn't him. Even at his most dragon like Lung still sounded human, distorted as it may be he still sounded human. Whatever that sound was it wasn't right, it was too inhuman.

It chilled him a little, Odette more so as she gripped onto the hem of his jacket.

But the girl in front of him didn't even seem to notice it and simply asked her question again. "Rules?"

Fucking monster capes.

"You don't mess with Capes out of costume." He said shortly, nerves calm but frazzling with the situation. "People who do get both sides after them, villains and PRT."

The girl didn't say anything to his answer, her head just straightened out of its tilt and her unblinking blue on black eyes seemed to focus past him for second. When her disturbing eyes focused back on him she only said, "Thank you", and left.

Running away at speeds he was sure would have gotten most cars pulled over for.

In the distance he could see an impossibly big bird rise over the rooftops and glide away into the rain filled sky.

'What the hell is happening tonight' He thought as he slowly relaxed out of his stance. His hand reaching behind him in search of Odette's, who's hand insanity if not a bit shakily took his.

"I think we need to talk to Kaiser."

-0-0-0-0-0-

The drugs had worn off, mostly, and I was still seeing things.

Different scenes and events happening throughout the rainy city, and being the cause of the rain made it feel all the stranger. I could see the city; feel the city, with my rain pouring down.

The shapes of the buildings came in clear to my mind, the curves of the streets and how so many things moved throughout it all gave me an amazing view of the city.

It was like… like I was seeing a giant model of the city while remembering it at the same time. It was awesome and weird.

Awesome because it meant I had super powers.

Weird because I was seeing/feeling something so big, so new, and it felt… right. Like I was just using my hand or eyes to look over something.

Speaking of eyes, I was still a little freaked out I had seven pairs of them. Six of them attached to bodies all around the city.

Bodies that looked like me but with strange eyes and red hair. It was a bit disconcerting at first but as I got used to it things got fun, and interesting.

Each one of the bodies did something different, like how one could summon the rain I was using to survey the city and another could summon up monsters.

I was just getting used to them and didn't know all of what they could do but experimenting with them would make the next four days in the hospital pass by a bit better.

A lot better actually.

The body, I really need to think of a better term for that, that made the rain is one I had made the most headway with and from what I can tell the one that was going to get me in the most trouble.

It already had, I realized, as the animal summoning body got in a fight with a fire ball throwing girl when I asked why she felt different.

Maybe asking that question so bluntly to the first six, seven if I count the couple, was a bad idea but at least I got my answer.

And a death threat.

And a strongly worded offer from the Protectorate.

It was a lot to take in and, even when I was blocks away, scary. So after getting my answer I ran. At least the couple was nice about it.

Still, I was glad I asked.

They all just felt so weird compared to the other people in the rain. With everyone else I could make out their shape, get a read on their mood, and even tell if someone was injured but the people who were apparently capes were different.

It was like… like something was attached to them, something that wasn't in synch with the rest of the world.

I guess that would be their powers then.

Still, I had to be careful.

I really did not want to turn up on the PRTs most wanted list.

I was so wrapped up in my thought I didn't hear my dad calling my name. He had to shake my shoulder a bit to get my attention. "Taylor, someone is here to talk to you."

Blinking slightly to get out of my thoughts and process what my dad said I turned my head to see who it was. In the door way a fit looking man with hair freshly cut and a suit that had obviously seen better day. He gave me a smile as he walked into the room.

I didn't recognize him.

"Hey there Taylor, my name's Detective Richards. Call me Alex though." He gave me another smile that I could only blink at; he seemed to falter a bit at that. He turned towards my dad, "Pain killers?"

In the corner of my eye I could see my dad nod, arms crossed and body tense.

Was he angry?

"Dang, I'm going to have to come back for another interview later." He said, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a tape recorder and notebook with a pencil folded into its pages. "For right now, I'm going to ask you a few questions if that's alright with you and your dad."

I looked over at my dad, he was still tense even as he seemed to unfold himself to look at me and ask if I was up for it.

"I think?" A question more than an answer, the day's earlier events and drugs must have been effecting me more than I thought.

"Okay," The Detective started, "Let's start things simple. What do you remember? Start when you got to school if you can."

"I," My voice stalled as I shuffled through my cloudy memory. "The school smelt bad. Like something died."

"That's good. Anything else?" His voice annoyingly eager as he pushed me for more information. I didn't know anymore, there wasn't anymore. I went to school, went to my locker, ended up in the hospital.

I wanted to screamed that at him, but instead I said, "Not really, not till the Locker." I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice with that but I knew I failed. I turned part of my focus out towards my bodies out in the city, using them as a distraction to calm myself.

The Detective made a sound I couldn't identify as he jotted something down in his notebook, "That's okay, not expecting you to remember everything while your looped up." He gave me another smile, why did he keep smiling? "Now is there anyone I should be looking at? Enemies? Bullies or gang members you may have slighted?"

I didn't say anything for. This was the moment that I've been waiting for: for such a long time, for someone to listen to me and do something about my bullies.

But would he really listen?

Would he really do anything at all?

When I went to teachers in the past they never acted. They said some fancy words, promised things that would never happen, or they would tell me to stand up for myself if I really wanted the bullies to stop.

Could I really expect this man to be any different?

"Taylor." My dad spoke up, leaning forward a bit to talk. "Taylor? Do you know who did this to you?"

"I," Could I really tell my dad it was Emma? Did I really want to believe or think that Emma would actually go that far?

That the girl that used to be my best friend had almost taken my leg away from me?

"Taylor. Look at me." A different voice said, the Detective's, but it sounded different. It was less friendly and had none of the forced approachable tone I heard so many adults use. Instead it was harder, sterner, almost angry.

I looked up at him to realize all those things I had just used to describe his voice were echoed and featured on his face.

"What happened to you, what put you there in that bed, was an obvious and pre-meditated case of a disgusting form assault. Whoever did this to you deserves to be punished. They deserve to be punished for this. To be put into a cramped little cell for as long as the law allows. And I plan on making that happed, but I'm going to need your help to do it."

I was frankly astonished that anyone could speak about helping me with such fervor. I didn't really believe it.

And I really doubted they were going to get Emma thrown into jail, not with her lawyer dad working for the super hero run law firm.

I felt my dad squeeze my hand. Looking up I saw him looking right back at me with a strained expression on his face. "Taylor, please. Let us help you."

Those words stung through me.

Here my dad was, willing and wanting to help me but I was hindering that effort. That effort I had been waiting for and I was stopping it.

But I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I wanted dad to know what's been going on, how Emma's been hurting me. How she's been twisting and tarnishing mom's memory to mess with my head. How I was too weak to stand up for myself throughout it all.

He squeezed my hand, sent me another imploring look, and whatever resolve to keep it from him I had left collapsed. I mumbled three names, "Madison Clements, Sophia Hess… and Emma Barnes. They've been bullying me since high school started."

As I told them about the bullying I couldn't help but think that things might be getting better.


	11. Chapter 11

Brockton Bay had always been a dangerous place, especially for people of color, but it became even more so after Leviathan. The city was left in ruins and the people had started to regress away from a civilized manner, something the splintered groups of the E88 thrived on.

It was not a situation Brian wanted any member of his family going through. So after the walking natural disaster was pushed out of the city Brian began the search for his family, not finding them until nearly two days later. The only fortunate part of that time was that it gave him enough time pack up his father's and sister belongings before the raiders came.

And when he tried to take them to where he was keeping everything, a place his employer assured him was safe, they were spotted. A group of bigoted and narrow minded men spotted them, a family trying to survive making the "mistake" of being too dark skinned for the liking of fools.

During the chase for their lives Brian had made a true mistake, he used his powers to help hide his family. Something that caused a fraction of what was left of the E88 capes to come after them, a number of them still holding a grudge against the Undersiders for the release of the racist groups identities.

Stormtiger and Cricket came racing at their minions call and Hookwolf's orders. They hoped from roof top to roof top chasing the terrified family as they hid in the darkness of Brian's power.

And then it happened, a missed step and a lucky shot from Stormtiger had Brain and Aisha's father sprawling out of the clouds of darkness. Right into Cricket's hands.

"Come out Grue." A mechanical voice taunted as the cape brought a blade to black man's throat. "Come on out and maybe he survives."

Before that demand could even be finished Brian's father was already yelling, "Boy! You better not stop running! You get your sister out of here! That's an order!" Despite the order, despite knowing his father was right Brian paused as something in him screamed for him to save his father. Yelled and demanded of him to protect his family.

He even went so far as to take a step in his father's direction.

A step he took just to be inches closer to watch as invisible claws ripped his father's stomach open. "He helped take our lives from us why should we give him a chance to save his own?" Stormtiger asked as he landed gently next to an irate Cricket. "Let the monkey come to us as we rip everything from him."

But Brian could not hear the murder's words, he could only hear the pounding of his own blood in his ears as the image of his father's death played over and over again in his mind. He must have gotten so mad because he had briefly blacked out and landed to his knee, still gritting his teeth in anger.

He paid notice to his darkness as it began to rapidly spread, rushing block after block as it moved faster than ever before. What little electricity was left in the city blacked out for miles around and the night's chill became biting as the darkness spread and spread. The inky clouds taking away any source of power they could find, from the heat in the air to the power lines, it was all absorbed into the ever expanding storm.

Brian didn't even notice as he felt his temper rise and rise and rise again. His body shaking with rage to the point that meaningless words and sounds of rage began to escape his lips. "You bastards." He found himself saying against gritted teeth, his darkness swirling passed roof tops and scraping the sky as it seemed to expand ever outward. "I'll make you suffer!" His arms began to tremble and his mind nearly white his outrage as his eyes snapped unseen onto Stormtiger. "I Will Make You Pay!"

And then, like a switched flipped, he screamed and the darkness he had spread had begun to spiral inward. The darkness rushing at speeds that sent people sprawling to the ground as it returned from where it came. Inches into miles of energized darkness seeped back into Brian as he screamed himself raw.

His muscles began to bulge and the air around him began to heat enough to cause a distortion about his body. The color and texture of his hair began to shift, unraveling his cornrows as spikes of blonde hair forced themselves into existence. He screamed until every last bit of his darkness returned to him and then, ending with a shockwave causing yell, he stopped.

He stood in the open with a barely contained scowl on his face as it began to snow. His new green eyes regarding his father's killers with deadly intent as heat rolled off him and electricity crackled across his form.

The villains had barley managed to get a syllable out before Brian moved, his speeds untraceable as his fist bloodily sunk into the wind manipulator's stomach.

"All of you here will pay."

-0-0-

AN:

For some reason the idea of Super Sayian Brian was in my head and I did a roughly 45 min write up to get it out, sort of. Basically Brian second triggered after watching his dad die, Aisha trigger around the same second, with the power to expand how far his darkness went/made it absorb more energy/take that energy into himself to become a mega Brute/Blaster. I still have no clue how this idea got in my head.


	12. Chapter 12

A Hero Named Kid  
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Director Piggot looked at the boy fidgeting in front of her desk, looking more proud than apologetic or worried. She supposed she cold understand why but that didn't leave her any less irritated. Armsmaster stood nearby, his arm raised as he skimmed over reports of the incident making vaguely curious and impressed sounds as he read.

"Sum up for me what happened." She demanded in as close to a flat tone as she could manage.

The teen Tinker opened his mouth one, closed it, and thought over what he was going to say. Something Piggot could appreciate, in part because she did not want to be drowned by a flood of Tinker babble. "I, uh, I was trying to work out a problem I was having with the weight distribution of my antigrav pads and figured I'd look over another Tinker's work to get, ah, some inspiration."

"So you requisitioned to have Leet's hover chair brought to your workshop?"

"Well, yeah." The teen easily admitted, "He used for when ever he was playing Robotnic or Bowser in his show, both costumes had to weigh a decent amount and from what I remember about the show it could also lift tons of weight, literally. So I wanted to take a look... Things kinda escalated from there..."

Steepling her fingers together Piggot remained calm as she demanded the ever important question, "How."

"I, well... Leet's stuff is usually a hodgepodge of his old projects smashed together to work and, well, I found ways to make it work better. It helped that a lot of my half finished projects fit in pretty well when I needed them... My prototype power armor more than anything else..."

"Is this an emotion fueled generator?" Armasmaster asked, showing his display to Chris despite Piggot's irritation over the interrupted debriefing.

"Yeah, I got the idea from watching how some people reacted to Gallant's blast. I figured that if energy could change emotions, emotions could create energy. I could never get it to work on a meaningful scale but when I combined it with one of my solar, well most light wavelengths, batteries and Leet's battery pack I got a surprising amount of umph."

"An 'umph' that I would like to remind you the entire building felt."

"Sorry." The boy offered in a mumbled apology while Armsmaster went back to examining the boy's creation.

"While nothing was too damaged, outside the roof of your lab and the floor of the room above you, disciplinary action will be held. Patrols are canceled for you as of now and your current Tinker budget suspended until a review board can go over this incident." When that didn't seem to faze the boy she added on, "Your new machine is to placed into confinement until it goes through not only the review board and Armsmaster but the Think Tank as well. Dismissed"

That got the boy's attention, "I,"

"I said dismissed." Piggot repeated, her mind turning with ideas how to make the Ward's day worse if he didn't listen. But eventually the teen relented, all but stomping out of the room to leave his two superiors alone. "How dangerous is the device?"

"In all honesty? No more so than a well made set of power armor, it could probably take on most mid-level brutes without much problem." Armsmaster said, not looking up from his display, "There isn't many offensive options on the machine, its main offence seem to protrude a few drill like spikes, but it could easily lift a small car and keep its mobility."

"Hmmm. Would you say it would be safe for Kid to bring it in the feild?" Piggot asked wondering how the review boards would lean, Armsmaster had more than enough experience with them to have a good estimate.

"Most likely" He said still flipping through the information on the screen, "It seems stable enough, no overtly lethal uses outside of the spike limitations, and from the alloy and field generator I'm seeing it would do a more than fair job on keeping Kid Win safe in the feild. But there is one thing I just can't figure out..."

"Oh?"

"Why he made it look like a giant face?" 

-0-0-0-0-

AN:  
And that's how Kid Win made the Lagann.


	13. Chapter 13

Delay  
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Colin, Armsmaster, Defiant, all names he has carried and each name with their own regrets.

Skitter being one of the larger ones.

A girl so new to her powers, so full of hope and willingness to be a hero, and look what he did to her. He turned her into a villain.

One feared by the local Protectorate and PRT enough to call in outside help, something that Lung and Kaiser never did in their years of fighting with the city. A villain that on paper was a ruthless dictator, one that wasn't above killing PRT directors, even if evidence was starting to mount up against the man from an "Anonymous" source that the man was corrupt on all levels. A villain that ruled a disaster ridden city with an iron grip with her fellow villains. But the streets said otherwise.

The streets showed people rebuilding their lives, they spoke of children healthy and recovering, they showed mercenaries handing out care packages to gathering groups. All of it within the confines of marked territory.

Markers that clearly belonged to the Undersiders, any area with a different or no mark looked almost exactly like how the media was trying to spin Brockton Bay. Even if the Parahuman Online forums screamed something different.

Even as a villain, even as a dictator and a monarch, she was a better hero then him.

And now he and Dragon, by order of the new East-North East PRT Director, were about to topple all of that down. They and a handful of Protectorate Capes handpicked to counteract Skitter's powers as they attacked her civilian identity in the middle of a crowded school.

It left a bad taste in the collective capes mouths. None of them, not even Sere who had a rather rough background, wanted any part of it.

It broke one of the major unwritten laws that their society was built upon, the one kept their family and friends safe for years. A rule that had villains actually willing to sacrifice themselves in Endbringer attacks to honor.

And now, by the order of a man who didn't seem to understand the importance of such things, they were about to destroy it.

Dragon had no choice in the matter; it was literally hard wired into her system. But he could do something.

Colin was an inadequate child, Armsmaster was a glory hound and a traitor to what he stood for, but Defiant could be different.

"Dragon." He said, sitting next to her current main body. "I have a gift for you."

"Defiant, this is not the time." It was impressive how she was able to program emotion into her voice in real-time like that. The irritation sounded even more natural than his own.

"I think it is." He said, pulling a switch aside from his other works in his portable work station. It was supposed to be a birthday gift, a tool for situations like this one but it wasn't done. Though beggers can't be choosers. "It's not much, and it's not as complete as I would like, but this should help. It should give you a choice." He knew how much something like this would mean to her, how she feared days like that one. Days where she couldn't help but go with an order she hated.

"What is it?"

"A delay. Not much, just a few seconds on your runtimes. Bu it should be enough to stall, for you to have a choice."

Dragon was silent for a moment. Completely still in that way only machines could be. But after a few seconds two words came from her speakers, "Do it."


	14. Chapter 14

Working title: The Dizzy Worm

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Taylor had gotten a job.

A small one, just babysitting for one lady uptown when her daughter's half brother wasn't available. She had just fallen into it during a shopping trip, helping a rather frazzled woman pack her car while her daughter made a bit of a scene.

Apparently the woman was so grateful, and impressed how she distracted the little girl when she had to run back in the store for her purse, she decided to get Taylor's contact information for when she needed a babysitter. Which was a lot.

The cost of being a single mother she guessed.

And it was a nice distraction from her usual life, play with the baby girl and get paid. It was a good thing both in her eyes and her dad's.

"Hey Ms. Anders." Taylor greeted from the kitchen table with her homework spread in front of her, "How was work?"

Ms. Anders put her purse down on the foyer table and let out a sigh, "Exhausting." She didn't offer anything more as she reached the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water for herself. She didn't like alcohol in the house, what with her daughter Aster finding new and interesting way to get into anything and everything. She had to keep most of her medicine cabinet in her glove compartment now.

After taking a quick sip and placing the cool plastic against her forehead she asked, "So how was Aster?"

"Pretty good, only tried to eat the remote today. I put her to bed maybe ten minutes ago."

Ms. Anders let out another sigh, she liked being home in time to put Aster to bed. To feel like she was actually involved in her daughter's life instead of just a fringe presence. Taylor knew as much, but between Ms. Anders's two jobs and the on and off court battle with her ex over custody she didn't have the time.

Taylor was happy she could take some of the pressure off the poor woman.

"Thanks for that." She said honestly and tiredly, "So what are you working on today?"

"Just some math problems, got some current events after that and I'm done with the last of my winter homework."

"Well, feel free to stay until its done. I'll leave your pay for the night on the counter, okay?" She said as she stood to head for her purse, "Do you need a ride home today?"

"You don't have to."

"Taylor, I've said this before, I don't mind. Besides, I can't have a pretty girl like you walking home alone in a city like this." She sent a half glare towards the window and may have muttered something, but Taylor couldn't make it out.

And she didn't bother denying the 'pretty girl' comment. Ms. Anders already made it perfectly clear that she stood by what she said and wouldn't hear of Taylor thinking herself in any other way.

"Thanks Ms. Anders."

"No, Taylor, Thank you." She said, giving Taylor's left shoulder a firm squeeze as she passed by.

Taylor really liked her job.  
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The day back from winter break was nice. Not great, she was going back to school after all, but not bad. She came back from a nice winter break where she spent most of her time playing with an adorable baby girl and celebrating Christmas with her father, over all very relaxing and enough for her to forget how horrible high school could be.

Except for Lauren.

Lauren was nice enough.

Maybe they couldn't really be called friends, as much as Taylor wished they could, they were certainly friendly acquaintances. Something that helped her get through the last stretch of days till winter break, well her and the Anders. Something she fully planned on thanking the girl for, again, when she saw her and asked about her vacation.

That is, if she could find her.

She could have sworn she saw Lauren earlier but she had turned too quickly away for her to be sure. Which was weird and it didn't mean anything at all.

Or so she thought and hoped as she turned down the hallway towards her locker, only to pause as a repugnant scent that she had been smelling since she stepped through the school doors increased at the turn.

Something must have died in the heaters. She hoped to all that the janitors manage to clear out the smell by the end of the day. The smell was already making her gag.

But it wasn't a dead animal, or even in the heaters. It was the used tampons and pads, bloodied and fermenting, crawling with bugs, that were shoved to the brim in her locker. A few of them tumbled out as she had opened the door, landing on her shoes and putting her on the verge of puking right there.

The only thing stopping her from doing just that the hand she used to cover her nose blocking her mouth.

She had thought the bullying had ended, that life was going to get better, but apparently she was wrong.

They were just waiting to make things worse.

Swallowing her rising bile, she looked up and into the crowd of milling students, some plugging their nose in disgust while some sneered at the trash or at her. Some stopped and stared, as if waiting for something or maybe just to see what was going on.

She didn't know, all she knew is that she saw one familiar face in the crowd.

"Lauren?"

She wouldn't meet Taylor's eyes.

And then Taylor felt someone grab her by her right shoulder and shove her forward, into the locker. She slammed into the tiny metal space hard, she was almost thankful for the padding the disgusting content provided.

Not so much when the locker door slammed shut and the sound of laughter leaked through the grates. The laughing voices may have said something but she couldn't hear them over her own retching and interrupted pleas to be let out.

Her hand started to slam into the locker, her body shifting uncomfortably through the filth. Her voice ragged from retching, bile coming out even as she began to call out for help. Begging Lauren and Emma to let her out, trying to reach out to any bits of friendship that she had left in either girl.

It appeared to be none.

All she received was laughter and mummers.

She called out again and again, trying to call for help from anyone. For anyone to do something, anything, to help her.

No one answered.

Her voice became nothing more than a whimper as the bell rang and people started to leave for class, with none of them even bothering to give her locker a second glance. They left her there, alone.

Tears started to fall from her eyes as the crowd dispersed. As they did again and again with three more bells, ignoring her pleas for help.

None of them were going to help her.

She was left there all by herself.

"No" A voice boomed to her right, deep and masculine, stirring in the air like an echo. "Never alone."

"Because we are here." Another voice said to her left, soft and feminine, ringing through the locker like a bell. "Open the door."

"Don't tell me what to do." The voice of the man said, though she felt something extend… from her back, and through the door. She heard a few clicks and then the door opened, allowing her and a number of the lockers filth to come out with her.

She gasped for air as she crawled away, trying to get as far away from the locker as she could.

"Are you alright?" The feminine voice asked, seeming to come over her left shoulder.

Taylor spun around, searching for voice but she saw no one.

"Behind you." The male voice said jeeringly, causing her to spin around again. "Over here." She spun again.

"Stop that." The woman admonished, and Taylor felt something reached out from her shoulder blade and slid out from her neck line. And a hand of pure white tapped her face, "We are here. But I don't think here is a good place to have this conversation." The hand reached down and tugged on her elbow, "Let's go."

The touch, even as warm and as gentle as it was, caused her to panic, even more than she already was. So, she ran.

From the locker, from the school, and hopefully the voices.

She could only escape the first two.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

She could fly!

Not like other capes, who could do it through sheer force of will, but she could. With wings, one so dark it almost couldn't be seen in the night and the other so bright she stuck out like the moon. The let her race and glide through the sky as if she were a bird of prey, faster.

Faster than even some cars on the highway below her.

"Beautiful isn't it." Her left wing said as a head started to shift from its bright mass, it was beautiful and feminine as the voice itself. Almost Angelic in appearance.

"Yeah." Taylor answered, looking down upon her city, her home. The one she wanted to protect, how she was going to protect. With all the power the three of them could do together.

"Yes, yes, very pretty. Now can we bash some heads in?" Her right wing said, twisting into a horrifying skull like face as he did so.

Taylor just rolled her eyes at her right wing's attitude, already used to the wing's impatience and violent tendencies. At least she could put them to good use while being a hero.

So, listening to her wing, she angled herself downward towards the street below. Ready to do some justice for her city.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

So the idea is that instead of administering bugs Taylor's shard administered the partial shards she got from Purity and Shadow Stalker. The right shadow wing being a Stranger/Breaker mix like it's 'mother' and similarly the left light wing being a Blaster like its own with both of them have Changer powers. Not sure if Taylor has Changer powers of her own, apparently its cannon for the character who's powers I'm basing this on. Again never played the game.

Based on Dizzy from Guilty Gear.


	15. Chapter 15

Working title: If I Were

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She had worked up her courage and cast out her doubt, hoping for the best.

The United States had become more accepting since Legend, more willing to take people as they were since the Monster Capes had started to show up. It was a world where she could just be her.

Except in Brockton Bay, where the girl one tried to ask out could be a member of the E88. People so bigoted that they'd ignored the fact they had been friends before the reveal. So lost to their hate they'd lash out with disgust and spite.

Leaving Madison with a black eye and a scratch on her cheek. The other people on the bus gave her a sympathetic look, most of them any way, as her month's long crush stomped away.

She paid them no mind as she rushed off at the next stop, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The damage didn't hurt as much as the rejection did. That deep stabbing emotional pain that stung her eyes and made her shoulders shake from feelings overflowing .

Madison hadanaged to get herself into a convience store's restroom before she broke down. Hot salty tears running down her cheeks as sobs escaped her lips.

What did she do wrong?

What did she do to deserve that punch? Those hateful words?

She had thought Lauren liked her.

The signs where there to see, or she thought there was.

Lauren would always smile at her when she got on the bus, Madison would always make sure there was a seat next to her for the girl to take. It was always taken gladly with complements on how cute Madison looked that day and how they should go to the mall together that weekend.

And when they did go to the mall Lauren would always drag her around with a tight grip on Madison's hand. One she probably couldn't break if she tried, not that Madison would have wanted to.

Why would Lauren be so clingy if she wasn't interested? How could she have lashed out like that to the person she clung to so tightly?

Well, fuck her.

Fuck the E88.

And fuck Brockton Bay.

Things wouldn't have been like that if she were a boy. Some muscle bound idiot with a stupidly white smile instead of cutesy little Madison.

If she were a boy maybe her feelings would have been accepted by Lauren, or hit the stupid bitch back.

If she were a boy-

*Trajectory*  
*Agreement*

And why couldn't she be?

-0-0-0-0-  
AN: And that was how Browbeat Triggered.


	16. Chapter 16

Rain In Brockton Bay Pt 3

Lean, half step, hop.  
Lean, half step, hop.  
Lean, half step, hop.

The sheer repetition of it drives her mad, though she was quite sure she was there already. Maybe it was the stress of having a chunk of her thigh cut out due to infection or maybe it was depression finally getting to her, either way she was seeing things.

At times it felt like jumbled glimpses of the city, others it was almost like she was taking a stroll down the streets of the Bay. Something that she very well couldn't do on her own anymore.

She was having difficulty just navigating around her own kitchen much less a street. Still, it was nice to fall into the daydream like sights that these hallucinations were giving her. Pretending to capes as they ran and jumped through the rain filled city, stopping crime wherever they saw it.

Wherever they felt it.

They knew where everything within the rain was, what they were shaped like, how they were moving and even how the people were feeling. It had felt so real that it had gotten to the point that she wasn't sure if what she was seeing, what she was feeling, was actually a daydream or not.

She honestly put them off to the combination of painkillers and emotions, it was a very interesting combination to say the least. One that she was more than willing to lose herself in with a fresh cup of tea and a turkey sandwich in hand. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Uber flicked the last of the floating cameras on and waited for L337 to give the all clear, that the feeds were good and that they were recording. He began to crack and roll his neck as L337 started to count down from five.

Letting out a breathe at two and clapping his gloved hands together at one Uber turned to the nearest camera drone with a great big smile, "Welcome back viewers! We have another great show for you today!"

L337 took over, "You see today we were hired to… liberate some items from a building that I'm sure will be mentioned in the News later. But that's not the important part, the important part is our theme of the day."

"As many of you probably know its been raining non-stop in the Bay for a good week now, and we figured we didn't want to get soaked."

"And L337 got an idea while he was digging around in our old equipment, particularly our old Star Wars stuff."

"We've decided to go with a recent import from Aleph."

"Xemnas and Xigbar from Kingdom Hearts 2!" The Duo said together, L337 raising his modified laser gun to show just which character he was going to play while Uber gestured to the men dressed in black bug like costumes, "With our paid help helpfully playing our loyal Heartless."

"Now in a few minutes we're going to do a fairly simple smash and grab. Break in, dazzle them with our brilliance, beat up their guards, and then leave as fast as possible."

"So, a fairly average job for us. See you guys in five minutes." As stopped the recording Uber started to go over their plan again, L337 annoyed by how their minions were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Whether it was their costumes or the situation that they were being paid to go into he didn't know, and he didn't care. He wanted them to suck it up and to stop making him and Uber look bad.

The only reason why he wasn't going to yell at them over it was because Uber told him how that was a bad idea, both for rep and for hiring future underlings. Underlings they would need if they wanted to re-enact any of their more complex favorites.

It was hard to fill an entire Final Fantasy party with just two people.

So he dealt with their discomfort as best he could, giving his Sharpshooter a slight tune up as their van moved steadily down the road. It was a little… unelegant, he guessed. A mashed together weapon made from the gutted remains from a Star Wars blaster and a Portal Gun so he could mimic the power Xigbar showed in the games.

The test they did back at the base proved the weapon solid but there was always that little bit of fear he had about bringing his work into the field. Not just the danger of it being damaged and him losing that piece of tech forever but also the feat it was going to blow up in his face. He had been skittish about it since it first happened.

Uber reassured him everything was going to be fine, that everything tested out and all he had to do was believe in himself. To believe in what he built, but it was hard to do when so much of what he's built has literally blown up in his face.

Still, he pressed on,

He and Uber, Jeff, needed the movie. The money they've made from their web show was nice but not nearly as well as other web shows, they couldn't sell as much merchandise as many of their competitors have. And their competitor's never had to deal with the expenses of being a Tinker.

Expenses he had, quite a number of times, had gone over budget with when inspiration had hit him. Jeff never really minded, or so he said, but it bothered L337. Especially when they had to take jobs unrelated to their goal just to make sure they didn't go under.

At Least they could record a show out of it.

As the van came to a stop L337 engaged the recording function on the camera drone, setting up a time delay and began the countdown for Uber. Once one was hit Uber came to life, going from mastermind planner to an award winning actor in a second.

"Alright folks," Uber said, looking at one of the drones head on, "We're just outside our target. Wish us luck."

And with that Uber flung the doors open, jumping into the rain filled streets with L337 and their minions following after him. With his hood up, and seemingly unperturbed by the rain, Uber rushed inhumanely forward using the constantly cosmetically modified Sprint Boots. As he neared the walls of the building he flung his arms to the side and with the snap hiss of a modified lightsaber expertly cut a hole into the brick wall.

With the wall still charred and stone melting Uber gave the wall a firm kick, sending the cut out section slamming inward. "And the door is open." He said with a little fanfare, jumping in through the newly made whole with two cautious minions while L337 stayed behind to guard the door.

He'd have preferred to do more for the show but they were on a job and the goal was more important that the mission during times like this. It was also boring, especially when he could hear Uber continuing the show inside without him as he beat up the guards and would be heroes from the workers inside.

He would even admit, embarrassingly as Jeff would lecture him on it later on, that he let his mind start to drift to various machines and how to loophole his power. He had gotten so wrapped up in thought that he jumped far more than he would have liked when a voice called out from the mouth of the alley.

"What are you doing?" The voice was deeper and huskier than he would have expected from the girl at the edge of the alley. The girl couldn't be more than sixteen and couldn't look more pathetic with how the rain made her red hair and plain black clothes stick to her body.

He could help but compare her to a little girl who got lost from the way her head tilted and how she was seemingly staring blankly at them. If he had to to guess underneath that matt of red hair she was staring at them with wide eyed.

And, frankly, she wasn't something he wanted to deal with at the moment or something that needed to interfere with the job. So, tapping on the nearest paid help's shoulder he jerked his thumb towards the girl, "Get her out of here."

The minion nodded, the antenna of his Heartless costume bouncing as he did, and made his way over to the redhead with his rifle raised. "Okay kid, you need to leave now before someone gets hurt."

In response the redhead simply tilted her head the other way and asked another question, "Are you hurting those people in there?"

"Kid, you need to leave now or someone out her will get hurt." L337 didn't see all that happened next but he saw the end result, a bent gun barrel and his minion tumbling along the asphalt.

"I don't like threats." The girl's voice was closer now, too close. L337 has gotten too caught up in her initial attack that he didn't see her move forward. One second she was standing at the mouth of the alley and the next she was standing above his fallen minion with an eerily blank look on her face.

He decided that that was all the proof he needed to see that she was a cape and opened fire on her. His Sharpshooter letting out bolts of accelerated particles that turned the rain to steam as they raced towards their target, their impact more than enough to make the girl stumble. Something he expected but what didn't come with that usual expectation were screams of pain from his target getting some new and nasty burns.

He hated fighting brutes, they almost always had that Jason Voorhees horror movie feel to them. The "Hit them all you want but they aren't going to go down that easy" feel that was frankly freaky and inhuman. But he knew how to deal with Brutes.

All he had to do was to add more force.

So, screaming at his minions to open fire, he let loose with his weapon's automated fire function. Blast of energy was joined by mundane bullets as they pelted away at the Brutes skin, forcing her to cross her arms and bare it.

But any brief moment of victory he felt was quickly extinguished as he noticed she wasn't stumbling back, in fact she had taken two steps forward since they had began shooting. And at the third step she had sprinted forward so quickly L337 thought the automated teleport function within his Shaprshooter wasn't going to work.

He had gotten a brief look at wide blue on black eyes rushing towards him before he was teleported to where one of his stray shots had hit the wall opposite of him. Hsi brief disappearance didn't seem to bother the Brute girl as quickly stumbled on and into one of his henchmen, ripping his gun from his hands and shoving him down the alley.

And as she repeated the process with the last minion L337 quickly shot the edge of the roof above him and ported away, After a brief stumble by the edge L337 planted his feet firmly on the roof and radioed Uber, "Uber, we have a Brute. She's took out the help…"

His voice trailed off as he saw that the redhead from earlier standing on the roof with him, staring at him with her freaky eyes, because of course a Brute could follow him up here. "And she's on the roof with me…"

Letting go of the radio L337 raised his gun, figuring it was better this way. It would allow Uber to finish the job without interruption. But before he could pull the trigger the girl did something strange.

She clapped her hands.

Before he could even ask her "What the hell?" blue fire erupted on the roof, burning nothing but forming a shape in a second. Once the fire burned away, as quickly as it came, L337 was greeted by the sight of bear the size of an SUV growling down at him.

"Oh, that is so cheating!" he said as he hastily activated his teleporter system again to get out of the way of the very large and very angry bear, taking him back to the alley where the fight started. But as he looked back up on the roof he could see another flash of blue fire and the bear jumping down from the roof after him.

"Crap, crap, crap, shit!" The words rushed from his mouth as he teleported away again, somehow ending up inside the building this time and colliding with someone.

He didn't recover his breathe when he heard Uber's voice, "L337! Get the hell up!"

Heeding his friend's voice without a second's hesitation L377 stood up and scampered back from where he had fallen. As he rushed to stand next to his friend he saw who he had bumped into.

The Redhead.

He must have teleported to her because of the bolts she had taken earlier but how had she made it inside before him? If she had a Mover rating to go with her Brute and apparent Master power he was so going to call Hax.

"I thought you said she was on the roof with you?" Uber hissed out, sounding a lot more tense than his body language would lead people to thing.

"She was!" L337 hissed back, "She made a giant bear and through it at me."

"A Master too? Great." The way Uber said that, and how half the room looked like it was either crushed or cut in half L337 has to wonder what had happened. And he had to wonder how the girl had done this much damage fighting Uber when she was on the roof with him not even a twenty seconds ago.

They didn't have much time to dwell on their opponent's abilities as she literally pounced forward from all fours, rushing at them with enough force that she ripped the tiles from the floor. While L337 let out a curse Uber used his Sprint Boots to meet her charge, his padded knee jutting forward to meet her chins and his gloved fist racing forward for a follow up.

But she was quick enough to dodge his follow up, and the follow up after that when Uber tried swiping down the red blade of his modified lightsaber at her legs. Uber had always been good at keeping Brutes and Movers on their toes despite how physically outmatched he was. The Thinker practically forced his combatant to dance to his beat, force her to make moves that he could predict and act against.

He also made it so that he was never in L337's line of fire, as the rapid fire of bolts that hammered at the redhead's torso proved.

But the steady rhythm Uber and L337 were starting to build, as if they were taking on a small time mid-boss, they were interrupted by a terrifying roar that made the bones in their chest vibrate. Instinctively turning their heads towards the giant hole in the wall they were greeted by the sight of a bear struggling to get the last bits of itself inside the building.

Which in of itself would have been terrifying enough but it was what was behind the monster that put them out of sorts. What was behind the bear, with an impossibly large bird perching from her shoulders, was a red headed girl who looked exactly like the one that they had been fighting.

They didn't have much time to process that before both the bear and the first redhead charged back into the fight. L337 could barely let out a curse as he brought up his gun and hoped he could get back to the base in time before their recording downloaded itself automatically online.

He had a gut feeling that he was going to need to edit out a number of humiliating bits from the footage later tonight. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

By the time her dad returned Taylor had eaten three more sandwiches and was contemplating a fourth. Finally deciding against it despite the protest from her stomach she yelled a greeting to her dad, "Hey Dad!"

"Hey, kiddo!" She heard him yell back along with the sound of him shaking off his umbrella and closing the door. "How was it being alone today? Were you able to get around alright?"

"I was fine dad." Taylor said, without a hint of sarcasm but a bit of exasperation. He had become a bit protective since the hospital and her surgery, near hovering over since she was released. But it was nice to know that he cared, plus he forcing Winslow to help the transfer process to Clarendon.

It would be a bit of a chore getting there in the morning, needing to wake up earlier no matter the mode of transportation she chose. She would either have to take an extra bus every morning or hitch a ride with her dad who'd have to drive out of his way for her.

Neither option she liked but both were preferable to going back to Winslow.

Taking her mind off those thought Taylor turned to her father and asked, "How about you? How was your day?"

"Nothing too exciting." He said as he walked by, putting a cautious hand on her shoulder for a brief squeeze before moving towards his usual chair and flicking on the news. "What would like for dinner kiddo?"

Taylor gave a shrug, eyes trailing towards the TV as the weatherman grossed on about how unusual the current weather was, "Anything's good, I've hungry all day."

"Again? You've been eating haven't you?"

"Yeah, but my stomach's still growling." She said, poking her still thankfully skinny belly.

"If this keeps up we're see about taking you back to the doctor. Constant hunger can't be a good thing."

"I guess…" She wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of going back to the doctor after her last visit. But if something was wrong with her she'd like for it to be treated, mostly so she didn't have to deal with any more problems in her life.

As the two members of the Hebert family started to fall into a comfortable silence, with the news acting as a pleasant backdrop, Taylor heard something that dragged her out of her daydreams. "And the new parahuman team dubbed the Scarlet Six by the PRT has struck again as two of their members played a vital role in the capture of the Villains Uber and L337."

When the TV showed a set of pictures all showing what looked like a different variation of the same girl with red hair and strange blue on black eyes all Taylor could do was voice a strangled, "What?"

AN:  
Huh, that ended up being longer than I expected it to be. Really need to work on writing fight scenes…


	17. Chapter 17

A First Meeting

-0-0-0-0-

Usually he could have spent all day job hunting for the Dock Workers, scrounging up jobs from anywhere to keep his people employed, and coming up with new ideas the revitalize their trade. But as he sat in his office with his desk covered in worker portfolios, job ads and Ferry renewal plans he couldn't find it in himself to concentrate on any of it.

He could only share at the pieces of paper in front of him and wonder what he was doing or what he was going to do.

Threading his finger through his thinning hair Danny Hebert let out a sigh and rested his elbows onto his knees as he wondered, 'What am I going to do?'

It had been three months since his wife died, two since he was able to get back to work, and somewhere in that time he had somehow forgotten how to talk to his daughter. When they were in the same room he would just stare at her, marveling at how much she looked like her mother, and no words would come from his mouth. They would die strangled at the back of his throat for even the most basic of words.

Sometimes, on his better day, he could get a few words out. Manage a good morning or ask how her day was. But that was the extent of his strength, and it galled and ashamed him. Especially when he knew he wasn't the only one hurting, when he knew his daughter was feeling the same way as him.

Broken, like a piece of them was torn away.

He thanked God and Scion that the Barnes were there to support her when he couldn't. And he was guiltily thankful for the time alone he received from their acts of kindness. More guilt poured on like salt to a wound when he was happy the school year had started up again, freeing him more from those moments of crippled communication.

It was just... So much easier just to try and lose himself in his work, even if he couldn't even do that right anymore. All he could do was stare blankly at the papers on his desk, leaf and shift through them just to look busy, with no clue what to do.

But he was distracted enough by his absent minded worrying that when a knock came at his door he jumped.

"Come in." He said, voice steady despite his brief fright. He had to at least give the appearance of being strong and stable, even when he wasn't.

Though who came in after his reply surprised him. Entering his door, dressed in a brand new security guard uniform, was Henry Finch. A man he helped get a job not half a year ago. And from what he heard from both the man and the grapevine the job was treating him well. There should be no reason for him to be in Danny's office, unless it was a social visit which Danny was sure Henry and him weren't close enough to have.

"Mr Finch, this a surprise." Danny said as he stood to greet the man, "Everything going alright at the new job?"

"Uh, yeah, Mr. Hebert. The job's treating me alright." Finch said awkwardly, rubbing his neck to ease himself. "No need for another job hunt. Just came to drop something off."

"Oh?" Danny hid his wariness at that. Dropping something off for him usually ranged from 'My wife baked cookies and I thought I'd share' to 'I have a message from Kaiser'. Unfortunately he dealt more with the latter than he did with the former, and it wasn't something he wanted to deal with in his current mind set.

"Yeah, it's, uh, a number… and an address for you to call." The man said, fumbling over his words so unlike the newly initiated gang members as he pulled out a folded and worn piece of paper from his pocket. "Well, it's more of a pamphlet I guess but these guys helped me out after the divorce and I saw guys… in your situation at some of the group meetings and I thought since you helped me out so much I'd pass the information to you. The least I can do and all that."

Danny accepted the folded paper and gave the cover a quick glance. "Parents without Partners" he read out loud, causing Henry to nod his head.

"It a, uh, support group for people raising kids by themselves. They got group meetings, classes on how to do things like changing diapers and cooking, and they even have these activates for the kids to get to know each other. They really helped me with Rick after the divorce and I just thought…" Henry started to rub his neck, Danny using the brief lapse in words to look back down at the pamphlet.

He stared long and hard at the words on the page and what the words meant. That he was alone, without Annette, and that he needed help to take care of his own daughter. A part of Danny's mind blazed with anger. He wanted to scream at the other man, to demand who he thought he was to say such things to Danny.

But another part of his mind remembered the discomfort he felt with his inability to even hold a proper conversation with his daughter. How he could remember the appalling times he forgot to feed Taylor. He was ashamed to admit that, yes, he did need the help.

After a few brief awkward seconds Danny finally moved. "Thank You." He said, maybe a bit gruffly, his hand raised to be shaken.

"Ah, no problem sir." The new security guard said, returning the gesture, "I just hope it helps."

Danny hoped the same thing.

-0-0-0-0-

It took several days before Danny called the number on the pamphlet. His pride warring against the action. But as time passed and he saw himself failing more and more to connect to his daughter he admitted defeat.

That did not mean he liked the fact, nor did it mean he enjoyed being in the room that continued to be filled by the second. It was a small conference room with thirty something chairs all facing forward, towards a podium at the front of the room, with a small snack bar in the back. A snack bar he found himself awkwardly standing next, not even daring to take a plate of food for himself.

He was sure his nerves were noticed by the crowd but he was glad none of them decided to comment on it. In fact most seemed not to even notice him, that is until a mousy woman with brown hair slid next to him. She didn't say or do anything at first, instead staring out into the growing and mingling crowd. Near everyone seemed to know each other, minus the two of them it seemed.

It was rather awkward.

Finally the woman spoke up, relieving Danny as now he didn't need to start the conversation himself. "Are you, um," She hesitated and nibbled on her lip before continuing, "Are you new here too?"

"Yeah." Danny said, resisting the urge to stuff his hands into his pockets. "A co-worker suggested… this. You?"

"I, uh, found it on the computer… I just needed help, you know?"

"Yeah." It was why he, and he guessed everyone else, was there.

They lapsed into a silence again and not wanting to alienate the only friendly face he's met so far he decided to introduce himself. "I'm Danny by the way," He said, stretching his right hand out across his body to be taken.

And it was. With a grateful and bright smile the woman shook his hand, "I'm Kayden. It's nice to meet you."

An:  
And the first step towards a ship story of Danny and Kayden has been taken. I hope it wasn't completely trash.

According to the Time glider Annette died the summer of 2007 and Emma didn't meet Sophia till the year after. So this takes place in the fall of 2007. Since I don't know Aster's age and I her Interlude Kayden said they've haven't worked together for 2 years I'm putting the little girl at nearing 3, so I may have fudged things to make it work.

Thoughts?


	18. Chapter 18

Alt!Power Grue Vs Alt!Power Taylor

-0-0-0-

The Undersiders, while a team, were allowed to take jobs on the side. Though Bitch was the most likely member to go off and do a job on her own, mostly destroying one of the ever increasing dog fighting rings in the city, but Brian was known to take a few himself from time to time.

Usually just some small time things to get a bit of extra cash during the lulls they had between jobs from the boss. Mostly he went for small things, be a bouncer or body guard for a day, and there was never a shortage of jobs for him despite his skin color. Actually he was pretty sure a few of his 'employers' got off on the fact they got to boss a black parahuman around.

A type of person he was pretty sure his current employer was, even if it was more about his powers than his race. The man would make a few snide comments to him and order Grue around to do things outside the purview of a guard. Grue was able to correct that latter misunderstanding by asking if they were going to offer him more money for the extra work, which quieted the man down a great deal while they rode the shipment deeper into the city.

His job was simple, at least by description. He was to escort the product, something he wasn't privy too nor did he particularly want to think about, to the drop off point and stay until the merchandise was secured. An easy job, he has done jobs similar to it a hundred times before, but he tried not to let his guard down.

Being lax on even the easiest job led to sloppy work, sloppy work led to a bad rep. And bad rep led to less jobs and money, something he couldn't allow.

So he sat patiently in the back of the truck, darkness billowing around him, as he kept a careful eye on the crates stored next to him. He noticed that his presence, while reassuring his client, made the armed thug sitting with him in the truck bed rather nervous.

Grue was okay with that, being known as frightening or even creepy could only help his image. It was why he didn't mind the comparisons to Behemoth he got every so often. It made people hesitate when they saw him on the scene, to doubt if they could take him. It also got him jobs because people liked having that rep on their side.

As his mind went over how he was going to clean the money he was going to receive from the job, most likely the pawn shop again, the car came to a jerky halt. It was only by the brief five word conversation his fellow guard had over his walkie that Brian even knew they had arrived instead of another stop light.

Standing up, his darkness swirling off him and pooling to the ground with the action, Grue waited for the truck doors to open. Something that didn't happen for a good five minutes. When the doors finally did open though he found his client looking none too pleased.

"We have a problem," Grue nearly winced at those words, four words you never wanted to hear on a job. "The boys inside aren't answering and considering the block we're in I'd appreciate it if you give the building a quick look around."

'Considering the block they were in' was a roundabout way of saying disputed territory. Every gang, from the three majors to the small fries, were all trying to get a bit of real estate in the area. Close to the shops and apartments but a good bit out if the way so they wouldn't have too many eyes watching them.

Grue wasn't unfamiliar with such areas, nor was he with the reasons for his new scouting mission. Areas like their drop off were notorious for being attacked. By other gangs, vigilantes or otherwise the buildings need to be on constant guard for attacks.

And for those reasons he had no real compliant with doing as asked. Didn't mean he wasn't going to be cautious doing so.

As he stepped out of the truck he started to spread out his darkness, blanketing the areas in front of him before he advanced. He took advantage of the monochrome vision only he held in the pitch black darkness to take survey of the scene as he came over it, idly noticing his reserves filling from the ambient energy within his radius. Inside the building he found the men they were supposed to be meeting but they were all on the warehouse ground, restrained by what looked like ropes.

Slowly advancing on the men he took a moment to examine them more closely. Most seemed uninjured, more disoriented by his darkness that any injury he saw on them, while others showed some harsh blunt force trauma. The way they squirmed in dark, how they avoided leaning a certain way, reminded him of people who had been hit hard with a bat.

Dissipating his darkness around the men, both for their comfort and so he could get some answers, Grue walked towards the nearest tied up thug. The downed man was shivering and gasping for air, something not uncommon after someone was engulfed by his darkness. Tattletale once described it to him like taking a dip in the deep end of the arctic sea.

Something, while he found sympathetic, he did not give the man before him a chance to recover from. "What happened." Grue demanded in the echo-y tone his powers allowed.

The man tried to talk, a stutter that grew could only guess was the man's left over shivers or fear from the Cape towering over him. Still, the man spoke. "A-Ambushed. Ca-cape. Didn't recognize."

Grue felt his body tense at the news because, while expected, Cape fights were not something he liked engaging in. Too many variable, too many chances for things to get messy or escalate.

That is if they were still there, planning an ambush like Villains did, or if the cops weren't on their way like most vigilantes did. He thought he had better figure that out quick so he could figure out his next step, "Where are they?"

"Behind you." A voice said from behind him, the boisterous shout followed by a lack of attack near instantly telling him was dealing with a hero. Probably a new one at that. "If you surrender peacefully the- Whoa!"

Grue didn't give the hero a chance to say another word before he sent a blast of built up power at them. The meaningless noise and accumulated heat he had collected fired into a bolt of energy roughly the size of a beach ball that nearly sang through the air as it raced to meet its target.

But it instead meet a wall, dispersing with a thud and leaving a scorch mark where it hit. Grue didn't mind that it missed, or even how close it came. All he cared about was that it distracted the hero. Enough so that he could start spreading his darkness again, pumping out enough to cover the first floor of the warehouse.

Feeling more secure in the cover his darkness allowed he took his first look at his opponent and cursed. The other Cape was obviously a female, her long curly hair and the combo of a sports bra with sweat pants made that obvious, it was the rest of her appearance that made him worry. Most notably the pair of dragonfly like wings on her back.

He hated fighting fliers, they always had the mobility and vantage point advantage. Which was annoying but not a complete hindrance to him. What was really his problem was her inhuman, insect like appearance. The buzzing dragonfly wings only being the start of the things he notices.

The second thing he noticed was the giant thorn like dagger growing out from her forearm, a stinger is he going to guess. Which meant he had to deal with a giant implement of stabbing that was probably loaded with poison. Not something you want to see on someone who could most likely hit and run you all day.

Everything else he noticed seemed almost peripheral to the wings and the stinger but he still took stock. Antennas sticking out from her forehead, large eyes that reminded him on a fly's, how her bare feet looked like they had a little claw at the, and he noted that on her stinger free arm there was a nozzle looking organ.

These combined features left him with two theories. One he was dealing a Changer with a bug theme. Or, 2, he was dealing with a monster Cape like Gregor or Newter.

He wasn't sure which the better option was, or if it was both options, but he had to warn his employer if he wanted his money. Grabbing his knife from it sheath he tried to cut the rope restraining him, only to find that the ropes would not cut despite his efforts and all he accomplished was the cut the man he was trying to free.

'Damn it, what is this shit?' he wondered as he gave up before he gave the man more than a nic. Tsking to himself he sheathed his blade and began to make his way out of the building, barely glancing up in time to see the other cape aiming the nozzle on her arm at his darkness.

Not wanting to be in the way of whatever she was about to do he started to make his way to the door, but he was too late. As it seemed the both had the same target.

By the time he reached the door there was a stream of rope, no wider that his little finger, running across the wall and door. And whatever it was, it was strong and sticky enough to stop him from opening up the door.

"Fuuuck." He growled in frustration, looking around the room for another way out but saw her giving the other wall, and exits, a similar treatment. Leaving him, and his employer's men, unable to escape. At least not without breaking a window on the second floor and risk getting caught or the jump.

Luckily for him he could risk it and make it.

All he had to do was get by the bug girl.

Which, if she was a green as he thought she was, would be easier than it seemed.

Gather his accumulated energy to his hands again he sent bolt after bolt of energy towards the flying hero, forcing her to take evasive maneuvers. He didn't like using his blast in the dark, his bolts became weaker as the darkness to suck out bits of power as the attack raced towards its target. But it would do as a distraction, hopefully enough for her not to notice as he shifted and spread his darkness to reach the second floor.

As he let his darkness creep up the levels he did his best to randomize his steps and blast pattern to confuse his opponent, irritatingly enough none of his attacks seemed to hit her. It was like trying to catch a fly in flight, you get close but you never quiet hit your target.

And despite his attempts to stay random he could tell that his opponent was finding a pattern to his attack, shooting streams of the sticky thread she used to block his initial exit at where he was just seconds before. He got the clue he really wasn't doing enough to hide his location when she took a dive bomb on his position, diving into his darkness on a straight path towards him.

And he would have been done for, if she shot her sting instead of diving so boldly into his darkness. When Lisa said his darkness was like diving into the deep end of the arctic sea she wasn't kidding. It was dark, it was cold, it was deafening, and, most importantly to his current situation, hard to move in.

As soon as the bug girl made her dive she started to slow down, wings finding it difficult to generate enough lift, and giving Grue enough time to blast her a beam of energy that was at least triple the strength of his previous bolts. It hit the girl square in the gut, sending her tumbling through the air and onto the ground.

She didn't stay down for even a second. She hit the ground and near immediately stood again, looking around blindly before jumping clear out his darkness in single leap. Something that surprised him since he had seen a blast of that strength wind most other Brutes, but she just let it slide over her.

He was going to have to take out heavier fire power if he wanted her to stay down apparently.

Gathering more power into his arms he began to prepare for what he figured was going to be a long fight.

-0-0-  
An:  
Kinda ran out of steam with this and I'm pretty sure parts went flat but of well, I hope you enjoyed it.

Idea for a Blaster power for Grue-  
Due to a slight change on his Trigger event Grue's Shaker power was just a side effect of his Blaster power. He can still uses as he does in canon but it's true purpose is to gather energy. All that energy (Sound, radiation, that bits of kinetic energy associated with touch ect) is collected and gathered for him to fling about in concentrated blast at his leisure. Blobs, bolts and beams of sound/radiation slamming into targets with varying force but averaging around fastball speeds (More energy absorbed the faster/harder/more powerful the blast).

Idea for Changer power for Skitter-  
Taylor keeps her bug theme and range but she doesn't have the control, instead she changes. Reaching into the databook of the the wildlife in her range (may expand more to include more animals) and chose the traits she wants to add to her form. She gain compound eyes, hornet stings, become covered in an exoskeleton, grow dragon fly wings, ect and turn these changes off as she wishes. Basically she's Terra-Formers + as she can take up multiple/compound/composite traits.

Side notes: You wouldn't know it from Grue's POV but the lights to the building were starting to flicker and the downed men's cell phones quickly lost their battery as Grue's power absorbed the electricity for more ammo.

Taylor's form had: Dragonly wings, a wasp's stinger loaded with dozens of different venoms, a web shooter, grasshopper legs, fly eyes, exoskeleton that makes her skin look red-brown/glossy, ant strength, and a few other goodies. She's wearing a sports bra for when she needs to grow another set of arms/so her clothes don't get in the way if her wings.

Also, fyi, Grue is most likely going to get away.


	19. Chapter 19

Non-Taylor Gamer/Worm story.

Player V Player 1.1  
Game Start  
-0-0-0-0-  
 _Theo_

Breakfast, as usual, was a quiet affair. Even though his cousins had come over for a visit they remained silent on their phones, tapping away at who knows what. His father, as was his habit, sipped on his morning coffee as he reviewed the various papers in front of him. Theo himself was picking at his food with a great interest. He didn't want to look up from his plate because if he did the unwanted evidence would be staring him in the face.

The evidence that he had either gone crazy or had finally come into his superpowers. He really hoped it was the former. Because if had gotten powers then he knew what would happen.

He knew what would be expected of him.

His eyes flickered to his father at that thought. He looked back down at his eggs a second later. The words were still there, floating above his father's head in bright green letters declaring his names and title for the world to see. For him to see.

 **The Emperor**  
 **Max Anders/Kaiser (The E88)**  
 **LVL ?**

Theo knew enough about, played enough, video games to know that LVL meant level and that the question marks meant that his father was too strong for him. That was something he didn't need any power to tell him. Though he felt an unwanted ping of jealousy as he remembered his cousins' own titles.

 **The Emperor's Guard**  
 **Nessa Biermann/Menja** **(The E88)**  
 **LVL 43**

 **The Emperor's Guard**  
 **Jessica Biermann/Fenja (The E88)**  
 **LVL 43**

It bothered him, more than he would ever care to admit, was that his own title had nothing to do with his family's. What type of a title was **The Gamer**? Was his power taking a dig at itself? At him?

What was a gamer to royalty?

"Theo, stop clinking your silverware on the plate. It's distracting" His father didn't even look up from his papers when he said this but his tone was clear.

Theo put his fork down.

"Good. Now, how has school been? Did you catch up with your friends after winter break?" He sounded like he was curious, he even sounded like he cared. He didn't. Even if he didn't know his father he knew it was a lie, he knew the signs. The man's posture all but screamed what he really thought and he didn't even bother hiding it.

A bright blue box suddenly appeared, both startling him and blocking his vision.

 **Congratulations! You have created your first skill!**

 **Cold Read (Passive/Active): Lvl 1 EXP: 19%**  
 **The human body can tell a story just as well as the mouth and it can tell no lies in front of your eyes**

 **-Ability to detect lies increase by 3% Passively, 6% Actively**

 **-Ability to detect mental state increased by 3% Passively, 6% Actively**

 **-Ability to ascertain and piece together information about a person increased by 3% Passively, 6% Actively**

'What in the world' he had to wonder, blankly staring at the words in front of him. What was this thing before him and why was it worded so strangely?

"Theo." His father was paying attention to him now, undivided as his eyes locked on him. That was never a good thing.

"Things have been fine." He said stiffly, sounding as polite as he could manage. He flinched again as another the sound binged once more and another screen appeared.

 **Calm Surface: LVL 1 Exp: 22%**  
 **Like a river, your surface is calm and unbroken despite the rapids underneath. Hopefully, the trickle down effect will calm your insides as well.**

 **-Ability to stay calm under pressure increased by 5%**

He carried on as if the blue box never appeared, "Midterm grades should be back in by Friday." His father hummed but that was all Theo could tell, the blue boxes were still in his way, still blocking his sight. Though if he went a little cross-eyed he found he could see through them. See through them and see his father studying him.

His father hummed, clearly disappointed over something. "If I remember correctly post break is usually when clubs start looking for new members again. Did any of them catch your eye?"

A few, "No sir." But none enough that he'd want to deal with the pressure that came with it. Not only would his father expect him to start taking over the group but he'd have to interact with other kids. He really wished he was better at that.

"I can't say I'm not disappointed." Theo waited for the other foot to drop, "But I also can't let this go on any longer. You're wasting your time playing games all day when you could be spending it doing something productive."

There was a pause, he was supposed to speak here. "Like what sir?" It was almost like reading a script.

"Like, for example, working at Medhall part-time. There are a number of internship positions available. It would give you an opportunity to see how the family business works from the inside." Which family business? The largest medical company in the Northeast? Or the largest gang of white supremacists in the country?

Both were just as likely.

"I'll be sure to apply."

"See that you do. This company will be yours someday." He didn't miss the look his cousins shared. Yeah, he had his doubts about that too. "Now finish your food. The driver will be here for you soon."

-0-0-0-0-  
 _Emma_

-Hey u hr yet-

The text was sent with a nervous and impatient energy, her eyes tracking towards the bathroom door hoping her friend would arrive soon. That morning had been a rollercoaster of emotions for her. Going from confused to excited to disappointed to excited all over again in the span of a few minutes. She NEEDED to share the news with someone, someone who would understand and be just as excited as her.

That person just needed to hurry up and get there.

She had all but started pacing when her phone gave off a distinctive ring. Eagerly she pressed in her password and read the message.

-Bus jst got hr. Where r u?-

-Second flr b rm-

-K BRT-

Sophia wasn't the first to get there, instead, a girl named Amanda Granger did. She was a little slip of a thing that she barely recalled, a friend of a friend that she wouldn't even remember the name of if it weren't for recent events. Still, she had to go.

Emma blocked her path, "Occupied, find another bathroom." The other girl opened her mouth as if she was really just about to argue with her. A raised eyebrow was enough to get her to shut up and take a step back.

Since Taylor's incident at the beginning of the semester, people have been more than a little antsy around her. It was irritating but it had its uses. Like when you wanted a bathroom to yourself.

"I'll just hold it."

"You do that."

As the girl turned to leave a bright blue screen popped up in front of Emma's face.

 **Intimidation (Active): LVL 1 EXP: 34%**  
 **Through body language, reputation and sly words you inspire fear. Use it to scare away lesser foes or to squeeze information from the weak.**

 **-Increase fear and unease in a Target by 2%**

'Tell me something I don't know power' Emma thought a bit snidely, feeling insulted that her skill only earned a 2%. She still didn't understand what all the numbers meant but she had clue. The higher they were the better they were and she deserved more than a 2.

The door opened a second time and Emma had to smile as a dark skinned girl entered the room. Her eyes automatically tracking to the words that were floating above her head.

 **The Huntress**  
 **Sophia Hess/Shadow Stalker (The Wards)**  
 **LVL 28**

Her friend had the highest number out of anyone she had seen so far! Her dad only had a 12 next to his name and the highest after that had been the gym teacher at 18. But Sophia had blown them both clear out of the water. And there Emma was with a lousy 3 next to her name.

It must have been because Sophia was a hero. She'd get there soon.

"Okay Ems, I'm here. What's the big rush?" Emma's grin just got all the larger at the question but she didn't verbally answer. Instead, she grabbed the little swiss army knife from her pocket, freshly nicked from her family's junk drawer, and stabbed herself in the hand.

The level of your Physical Endurance has increased!

Sophia's reaction was almost hilarious.

"Emma! What the hell!" she screamed, grabbing at her hand in a sweet gesture to get the blade out of her. But she paused, leaning in to examine what she was seeing. "There's no blood. There should be blood."

Emma just kept smiling even as she pulled the blade out, showing her friend the blood free blade. "Not when you got powers."

Sophia's grip on her hand got even tighter, "Emma, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Emma, what, happened." Sophia kept her gaze firmly on Emma's eyes. Was that worry there. "You don't just get powers over nothing. Something bad has to happen."

"Sophia," Emma snatched her hand away, "Nothing bad happened. I just woke up and, boom, powers."

"... That makes no sense. Did you have a nightmare or something?"

Emma could only shrug, feeling disappointed her big reveal wasn't getting the type of attention she wanted. "No clue. If I had one I don't remember it."

The other girl seemed to think this over, "Well, if Glory Girl can get powers from getting fouled I guess you can get one from a nightmare. So what can you do?"

Emma's smile returned. That was the type of attention she wanted! "Well, I haven't gotten it all figured out yet but…"

AN:  
It's a bit rough but a decent enough start. This idea started when I randomly thought something about Gamer fics and games in general, thinking how much more fun a game was when you played against/with someone else. Not that these two would realize it at first.

Both are going to have very different playthroughs of what is essentially the same game and when they meet it's going to be interesting to see how they react.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions?


	20. Chapter 20

Militia Pt 1 - (A Mentor Fic)

Hannah Washington was of a rare breed. Truly a one in a million specimen that needed to be looked on with awe and just a bit of suspcion. The reason for this was simple, Hannah Washington liked her job.

One could even go so far as to say that she loved her job, if not that then she certainly believed in what he job did and stood for. It was hard not to when she had worked for the same organization since she was a little girl.

So, unlike a number of her colleagues and co-workers, she would have a genuine smile on her face as walked through one of her "Open presence" patrols. Pausing here and there to make small talk with delighted fans, stopping for minor acts of heroism every once in a while (Usually in the form of scaring away would be dealers and thugs), and just simply showing the community that, yes, the authorities did care.

Something that was disappointingly hard to prove in a city like Brockton Bay, still she had to try. She had to believe.

"Ah! Miss Militia!" An excited little voice called from across the street, drawing her attention to a little girl who tugged insistently on a rather frazzled looking woman's hand. Hannah smiled in a way that made it obvious through her American Flag scarf, the way that made her eyes crinkle in the corners, and waved a gloved hand.

Her uniform, or costume as many insisted on calling it, was simple enough but strikingly recognizable from a distance. It was designed to be so by the Protectorate and Parahuman Response Teams PR machine, turning out a professional but eye catchingly inspiring design.

It was a look that had changed very little since she had first started her career as a hero. The facsimile of army fatigues she wore cut in such a way to draw subtle attention to her athletic frame and its color slightly off to a green that complimented her middle eastern complexion. But what really drew the people's attention, what truly made her recognizable as a public figure, were the stylized scarf she wore around her neck and the sash she wore around her waist made to look like the American flag.

It's what identified her to millions as the hero Miss Militia. It made her nearly as much of a hero as the swirling green and black energy at her hip, forming into the less threatening form of a billy club.

She, again, made for a striking figure. It was why so many of the undesirable elements of the area had quickly made themselves scarce when she arrived, conveniently better places they could be. She smiled at that, and smiled again as she posed in a photograph with a tourist.

All and all she thought her patrol was going pretty well, and then she stumbled. And then she fell.

A familiar vision came swirling to life before her eyes. The great figures blossomed into view, crystal giants made of smaller giants, circling each other as they encompassed an infinite expansion planets. An infinite expansion of reflected and mirrored Earth, the view narrowing again and again as the Giants ripped piece after piece of themselves off. Letting the smaller giants fall like a meteor shower.

The viewed zooming in again and again as one piece became larger and larger, steering itself towards her Earth. Towards her.

It raced forward with blaring words, feeling and information too great and dizzying for her mind to comprehend more than the most basics of basics.

 **[Exchange?]**

 **[Offer: Bud Prepared]**

 **[Assimilating]**

Hannah came back to reality with a shuddering gasp and a few worried good Samaritans hovering above her, one already on his phone as he talked to the 911 operator. "-pretty sure it's her. She has that glowing gun thing of hers. Look just send somebody alright, she, oh! She's coming to. What should I do?"

The man paused for a moment, nervously listening to the other end for instructions, "I, uh, *ahem* Miss Militia, Ma'am, the operator says that you shouldn't move until the ambulance arrives, which is about five minutes from now. So, stay still, please, ma'am."

Hannah nodded absently, mentally pegging the man to be in his very early twenties, knowing that the paramedics weren't even needed. She knew what had happened, she knew what had caused her fainting spell.

There was only one thing the world that could have caused her to see those creatures, those gods, again.

Tapping at her ear piece she relayed a quick message, "Miss Militia, Reporting from Redd AVe Ext, calling in a Blue 26." Blue 26, the code phrase for a Protectorate member affected by a Trigger Event, by a new Parahuman being born.

A burst of static in her ear drew her from her thoughts, "Copy, a Response Team is being dispatched now, ETA 10 minutes."

Ten minutes was much too long of a time, especially if the new Parahuman turned violent. Even more so when one considered what was just around the street bend. When one considered the shopping center packed with the unaware.

All those people crammed into one large building with an emotional Parahuman who didn't know their own strength.

Hannah quickly stood back to her feet, feet unsteady from brief vertigo, and rushed forward, ignoring the various protest for her to stay. Her boots stomped against the ground with rapid slaps, carrying her quickly to her thankfully noisy but peaceful destination.

The paramedics and Response teams found her sometime later, pacing as she made a fruitless circuit of the building.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Two weeks had gone by and there had been no further sign of the new Parahuman. No violent acts suddenly lashed out, no police reports of some great personal crime being committed, and no hospital reports altering them of a new traumatic injury.

They had no clues and Hannah was frustratingly confined to base or her home as a form of "Light duty". Supposedly it was to ensure that there were no lasting effects of her Trigger Event exposure. Though, she was sure, her continued observation was to no disappointment of the various scientist of the base.

It wasn't very often that they had access to someone who experienced another's Tigger, even rarer still to have someone willing to talk about it with them. Though there were still parts of it she had not shared, parts that felt too personal.

Who would believe her visions anyway?

To occupy her time during her newly acquired free time Hannah volunteered to take monitor duty and read over case reports, anything to feel more useful than a lab rat. Even if the task she had chosen were mind numbingly dull within themselves. This was likely why she so welcomed Velocity's sudden interruption.

"Hannah!" Called out, all but slamming the door as he entered. He was out of uniform, wearing only a domino mask to hide his identity, and seemed to have something very urgent to tell her if the wide eyed look on his face was anything to go by. "Hannah!" He repeated as he zoomed inhumanly closer, abusing her ability out of urgency. "Have you been online today?

"No." Truth be told she hadn't been on for over a week, tired of all the speculation of her fainting spell.

"Something happened last night, down by the docks. You NEED to see this."

Curious Hannah laid down the old report that regaled her of possible Empire safe houses and peers into Velocity's hand, staring at the video already cued up. Velocity, Robin out of uniform, played the video as soon as he saw he had her attention and the view from a shaky camera began.

Whoever filmed the scene was doing so from a fairly old or fairly cheap smart phone from a second story window. The image, a tad blurry from a shaky hand, showed a group of three men being confronted by a lone girl. Hannah didn't what was being said, the camera's mic being too poor, and she didn't know what started the confrontation, the video starting too late for that. But she knew one thing.

The girl was a Cape.

She hadn't even used her Parahuman powers yet and it was still obvious for all to see. She was a bit over the average height with short dark curls peeking their way out from under her costume shop bought general's cap. Her clothes oversized and ill fitted, as it was for most independent heroes just starting out, but clearly made to give the facsimile of a military uniform.

A fan of hers? Is that why Velocity was showing her the video? Because there was a new hero in town and they apparently looked up to her?

She found out the real reason a moment later.

One of the men advanced, shouting something as he reached beneath for something. The girl took a step back, frightened, but quickly regained her nerve as she stood tall and waved her hand. It was with that wave that she understood what was going on.

With a familiar swirl of black and green energy lines of a dozen little two inch tall men came into existence. Each dressed as if they had stepped out of Vietnam War documentary, right down to their M16 rifles.

The newly formed regiment of tiny soldiers marched forward with all the eerie timing and unity of a trained regiment. It was an intimidating sight with grown men but with the figurine like men, it was disturbing, spooky even given their silence.

The man did not seem cowed as he took another step forward, apparently unafraid given his bravado, and then a dozen rapid fire popping sounds snapped to life in the alleyway. The sound reminded Hannah vaguely of driving up to a driving range, the sound of dozens of guns muffled by distance.

A half second after the sound the advancing man fell to his back, holding a bloodied leg.

The would be camera man muted the rest of the video as he fumbled with the phone, likely cursing and revealing something of himself, and leaving before the fight ended. There wasn't a need, Hannah's perfect memory easily recalled a police report that now seemed very incomplete.

The report detailed the arrest of three drug dealers, one with a substantially injured leg, What the report failed to mention was the noted parahuman's costume, powers or even alias. Rookies… The Departments needed to stop sending them to pick ups.

She numbly took the phone from Robin's hands, replaying the scene twice more as her co-worker and friend spoke gently to her, "The video was only posted a few hours ago but it happened last night." He paused, finding the word he wanted to say, "We'll find her Hannah."

They had to. They couldn't just let her stay out there on her own!

Hannah felt the meaning of the video finally sink into her, how it percolated in her mind and stirred emotions in her chest.

She had a Second Gen.

She had a Kid Cape.

Cape and Parahuman culture may only be a little over twenty years young there were already many staples within it. The Unwritten Rules being the most famous of which but one that ran nearly as deep were the Second Gens. Capes whose power came from another Cape.

Maybe it was because most Second Gens came from families, partners or children, and other such close relationships but there was certain … bond expected between the two Parahuman Generations. Some would call it a mentorship, others would call it familiar bond.

It was a cultural thing, she knew. There was nothing biological about it, but it was expected. It was encouraged… It was desired.

Hannah, despite all her years as an active Cape and Parahuman, had never had a Second Gen before. She had seen others gain their own, seen them grow close, and felt a pang of jealousy every time.

And now that she had one, one so obviously hers, she wasn't sure how to act.

AN:

So I got pulled back into the Worm Fandom, yay.

This snip was inspired by three things. 1. An old idea of mine that there was a bit of Cape Culture around Second Gens, 2. The fic Nike 3. Honestly diverted from a brief Jojo cross thought where I'm near 100% sure Taylor would have a swarm stand, like Bad Company shown below. Note, inspired by but not actually a cross.

Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what you thought!


	21. Chapter 21

Immersion  
Chapter 1: Prologue

The warehouse district of Brockton Bay was a surprisingly lively place for a city whose shipping had dried up. Though, perhaps, that wasn't so shocking. The old concrete buildings were spacious and though a bit drafty protected many from the elements when they had nowhere else to call home.

it had practically become a small town unto itself. They were a headache that the police couldn't be bothered with unless they got into buildings that businesses were actually using.

But vagrants and the homeless weren't the only residents of the area. No, there were far more fantastical occupants who made their homes away from homes within the forgotten buildings.

Parahumans. Capes. People with near unbelievable powers who operated on either side of the law made their homes bases in the empty walls of the district even as they presented themselves in costumes both awe-inspiring and frightening. Or, in the case of the two parahumans currently running through the back alleys of the district, dressed in the most ridiculous things imaginable.

The taller of the pair wore a gold-tan mask that made his face appear to elongate into a long muzzle with a cartoonish grin and eyes above the nose. Atop his head was a blonde wig was stylized to appear almost like a rabbit's ears. Around his neck, he wore a bright red scarf that rested on top of a purple tank top with a large white O painted at its center.

The other man… the other man was dressed as a giant blue frog. It's too long arms flapped as the man struggled to keep up with his friend, his face sweating as the material turned out to be less breathable than he had hoped.

"Are, are we almost there?" The question struggled to come out, the man's breath catching in his throat as he tried to regain control of his lungs.

"We really need to get you running out more bro." The other teen's voice came out through a broad grin in a cheery baritone, "You've been spending way too much time in the lab."

The frog man, better known to most of Brockton Bay as the villain Leet, gave his friend a half-hearted glare, "It's because I spend so much time in the lab that we got away." He had created a line of sight teleportation device that had helped them escape the back of the transport. Like he had thought it had made for an amazing escape. Unfortunately, it had proven to have a short shelf life.

Like a number of his latest inventions. At least it didn't explode too bad. He could probably salvage some bits of it.

"We still had to run miles man. With Vista on our tails." Uber, his partner, and overall bro, said with an exaggerated shudder. "She's a vicious little thing man, I don't care how the Heroes try to market her."

"Stop being a baby."

"You can't make me!" He proclaimed loudly, getting a laugh out of his friend. "C'mon man, just another block or two before we get home. And my fingers are sore from getting out of those PRT cuffs. Trickier than they look."

Leet groaned but flopped after his friend at an easier pace now that they were all but home free. Home, in this case, being a rundown warehouse that they had renovated with quick made walls and generators. It wasn't much but it had room for his lab and for Uber to practice so it was home.

It also had a decently concealed security system that made sure the homeless couldn't get in and try squatting, again.

"Still, overall I think we had a good show." Uber said, typing in the code to open their 'front door'. "Especially the last bit, that escape was fun. Very GTA."

"Hey! Maybe that can be out next show. It'd be pretty easy to do too. Steal a car, get into a… car… chase…" His voice began to trail off as he took in the sight of his home.

The furniture was flipped, the TV was missing along with all of their game systems, and the most telling thing about the scene were the seven sets of rabbit costumes that laid discarded on the floor. It didn't take long for them to put the clues together but he felt more numb than angry.

Wasn't he supposed to be angry?

"They took the VR system." He heard someone say in a small voice, belatedly recognizing it was his voice. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea of the guys doing this to them. They had done at least half a dozen jobs together, did that not warrant some form of comradery? An honor among thieves? "I was going to see if I could salvage the neural interface from it…"

He didn't know how long he stood there for, frozen and staring at his disturbed property, but it was long enough for Uber to search the rest of the building. "Dave" He called out Leet's real name, enough to snap him out of his stupor, "You should come see this."

Something about the tone of his voice made his legs freeze up and his stomach to drop. He felt as if he were moving through molasses as he finally moved, tracking his friend's voice to the back of their home. What he saw drained what little blood he had left in his face.

The door to his lab was open.

The steel door was still in one piece and the advanced lock was still in place but the wall next to it was ripped apart. Drywall caking the hall, leaving wooden paneling and studs plain to see.

A movie line played in his head, "Secure lock, sturdy lock, completely unbreakable. The walls? Not so much." He couldn't place it and he didn't care to. He all but stumbled forward, dread firmly setting in as he crossed the threshold.

The room was empty, or damn near close. Most of the heavy machinery was still there but it seemed that anything that wasn't bolted down or weighed less than a hundred pounds was gone.

His legs shook and gave out at the sight.

He was ruined.

Dave had an amazing power, one that made him more than what he used to be. It's what made him a part of the elite. He could build anything. If you could dream it he could make it.

Freeze ray? Done. Flight belt? First week easy. Transforming car? Tell him what you wanted it to change into.

But he could only build each of these miracles once. And the closer he came to a previous invention the more likely it was going to fail, explosively. He needed his old machines to work around the limitations of his power. So that he could jerry rig something new from the old.

But if he didn't have the old how could he create something new? If he couldn't create something new then what was he?

A hand landed on his shoulder and didn't bother to look up. The reassuring squeeze did nothing for his spirits. "We'll find it, Davey, we know where most of these guys live. They should have thought of that before stealing from us." There was a menace in his voice that David tried to take comfort in but he couldn't bring himself to.

Especially when he thought of what was taken. "They took the Medigun Eric." He vaguely realized that he was trembling. "How am I supposed to make anything without that? What if something goes wrong?"

"We'll get it back David, we'll get it all back. Don't you worry."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Danny Hebert often found that he was stretching the definition of a dockworker. Dredging up jobs and contracts out of prospective employers for simply being near the oceanfront. Sometimes he half joked that they were a union of security guards and salvagers.

The joke didn't make it any less true or any less difficult.

The Construction Union fought them on a number of jobs and the city was becoming increasingly stingy with their contracts. There was a full grown tree of bitterness in the local government aimed at the Dockworkers Association. Planted, with admitted justness, due to the actions of the rioters in the 90s.

Poor Matt hadn't even been involved with the riots, he had begged for cooler heads to preveil. But no one listened and Matt ended up taking the blame, stepping down as the Association President with the birth of the Boat Graveyard.

City hall's resentment was likely fanned from all of Danny's numerous attempts at revitalization. But, as his late wife often said, he was a pig headed man and wouldn't give up. Not while he still believed that his city could get better, that it could truly live again instead of just going through the motions.

So, despite the likely rejection coming his way he still worked on. Throwing his all behind each project and problem put in front of him. How could he not when it felt like if he stopped that everything would fall apart.

A knock came at his door, dragging him away from the proposed contract with the storage chain taking over some of the beachfront, "Come in." He called, half distractedly with his eyes still skimming the paper and his teeth gnawing at the end of a pen.

Dorothy, the office secretary, was a stout woman with a smiling face that seemed to have never seen a frown. She wore a simple skirt and blouse with a color scheme that could only be called 'bright'. But what really caught his attention about her was the cup of steaming coffee in her hand.

"Door, you're a lifesaver." He praised, setting aside the contract for the first time in nearly an hour to accept the cup.

"Well, someone has to make sure you boy's don't fall asleep at your desk."

"That was one time!"

Her lips took an amused twist, "Oh, really? Then it must have been someone else I saw napping here the other day."

"That was my lunch break and I just pulled an all nighter"

"Then a chewing out would serve you right." She said with hands on her hips, "Leaving your poor daughter home alone like that."

Danny took a long sip of his coffee, not meeting the woman's eyes as she squinted at him. Guilt easily rising once again as she stared down at him and he remembered just how many times he had done just that to his daughter, "Taylor's fourteen, old enough to stay home alone for a night."

Dorothy gave a snort, "If only I could have trusted my boys like that at her age. I don't think I would have come home to a house if I did." Danny gave a small chuckle at that, remembering all the exasperated stories Dorothy had regaled to the office about her boys over the years.

The woman suddenly snapped her fingers, "Ah, before I forget, Jared wanted to know if you had time tomorrow to go over itinerary for the Union meeting."

"Alight, give me a sec," Danny had to brush aside a good tower's worth of paper to find his calendar book, "Alright, according to this I'll be free on the ninth around 2 and Thursday around the same time. Can you see if he's fine with either?" Something about those dates was bugging him. He couldn't place his finger on it but there was something at the back of his skull nagging at him.

"Can I walk all of ten feet? Why yes, yes I can." She gave him a wave he absently returned, studying his calendar book like it was a piece of new age art that Anne used to love and he didn't quite get. He hemmed and hawed over it, trying to puzzle his way through to a discovery.

He hummed at the date for a good minute before flipping the page, thinking that maybe he had forgotten a meeting later in the week. It was until the date of that Friday was staring him in the face did he realize what he had forgotten.

He had somehow lost his balance while sitting completely still, barely keeping himself in his chair and the calendar in his hand. His stomach had dropped as the room spun and a cold sweat threatened to break across his back.

How could he have forgotten about June 11th? How could he forget what was literally the most important day of his life?

How could he have possibly forgotten Taylor's birthday?

Not only the date but he had forgotten to get her anything. No gift, no cake, he didn't even bother asking her if she wanted to have Emma over for a birthday dinner. God, he had never felt so low.

What would Annette say if she saw this?

He stood with that thought, his legs easily carrying him out the door. He had to fix this. It was fixable. There was time to repair his stupidity.

Taylor used to love that sushi place off of the Boardwalk, it was a bit expensive but it would be worth it. And maybe he could call Alan, see if Emma wanted to join them. Then he could finish the day with ice cream at that new place off of Third.

"Danny? Where you off to?"

"I've got to pick something up Door. I'll be back soon."

That just left a gift.

What should he get? A gift card seemed too impersonal. Was she too old for stuffed animals now? Probably. Clothes? No, he didn't think his daughter was into fashion. Besides, he didn't want a repeat of the training bra incident.

Shaking the memory out of his head Danny decided he would think of something when he got to the mall. That place was basically designed with the idea of last minute gift shopping.

-0-0-0-0-

Taylor let out a scream as soon as she got home, the frustrated sound echoing through the row house's halls. Her dad wasn't home and wouldn't be for another good few hours. Which was just as well. She needed time to decompress, not a barrage of questions.

She slammed her backpack onto the foyer floor and stomped her way to the kitchen. It was all a bit dramatic but she had a long day so she felt justified in her childish behavior. Especially since she was alone and no one could judge her.

As the kettle boiled and she searched the fridge for something to eat, she wondered what the hell could have happened to Emma to make her such a bitch.

Or maybe it was something she did? Something she did wrong? Something that could destroy a lifetime of friendship so thoroughly?

No, she couldn't believe it was that simple. And even if it was there was still no reason for Emma to target her so.

To ruin her textbooks before she turned them in, leaving her with several bills from the school for her dad to pay.

To have kept a piece of her broken flute, a precious memento from her mother that they had defiled earlier that year, to pierce it through several pictures of her her mother. Pictures that had crude and rude things added to them.

How they had gotten that into her locker she did not know. How she kept her temper was another mystery she wasn't sure she could ever solve. Emma just couldn't leave the memory of her mother alone.

Emma had said it was a belated birthday gift, claiming she had all but forgotten it until her dad tried to invite her to Taylor's birthday dinner. She had a good laugh over that, asking if Taylor had any real friends in the world and showed disgust at the very idea of spending time with her former friend.

A part of her wanted to show the "gift" to a teacher. To show physical proof to her claims so that maybe she could get something more then offers of mediation.

But she couldn't bear even the idea of showing those pictures to anyone else. Her teeth clenched just at the thought of them. She couldn't have thrown them out fast enough, keeping only the piece of the flute in hopes to fix what was broken.

The flute still laid in her room, cleaned as best as she could make it but still unplayable. Nothing but a useless piece of wood and metal kept only out of sentimentality.

She tried not to think about it. She tried to focus on the smell of Earl Grey brewing in honeyed water, to think of how relaxing it would be. But in the end her teeth ended up gnashing and another scream worked its way up from her belly as her hand slammed to the counter, tea splashing out of its cup.

She consoled herself with the knowledge that they were in the last week of school and that she would soon have months worth of reprieve. That almost calmed her down.

Still, as she set down a plate of birthday sushi and teas down in the living room, she wished that she had let her temper and fist fly. It would have been worth any punishment to wipe that smug, condescending, look off of Emma's face.

But she rose above the impulse as her mother taught her to. Someone had to honor her mother's teachings and memory, especially if Emma was so insistent on defiling it all.

She was reaching for the remote, hoping to drown out her day with mindless distraction, when something caught her eye. Her birthday present from her dad.

Her only gift that hadn't been a cruel joke.

She wasn't sure if she liked it or not, honestly. She appreciated that her dad had tried but she had never been one for video games. She had always thought that they were a mindless time sink for violent behavior.

But damn if mindless violence didn't sound exactly what she needed.

The game system, a Bridge according to the side of the box, still laid unopened since it's unwrapping and took her a moment to set up. She briefly struggled with the wires but she must have done it right as the screen easily lit up and asked for a disk.

That gave Taylor another pause, after all, she had options. He father said the store clerk recommended them to give Taylor a sample of "different styles of gameplay". Taylor and her dad agreed he probably got swindled but Taylor was now feeling just a bit more grateful for that greedy employee.

The first game she picked up she decided against immediately, basketball really didn't seem like it was going to give her what she was looking for. The opportunity for some cathartic violence.

The same went for the puzzle game with a guy falling through a hole on the cover and what she assumed was a life simulator next two games looked to be more promising. Much more promising.

The first one had a blonde man and a wolf on the cover. The back of the case showed the man swinging the sword at various monsters and the wolf jumping at them. It also looked to have fishing? But the second game won the competition for one very simple reason.

It was rated M for Mature.

She didn't know much about video games but she knew that meant violent. And violent was what she was looking for.

She slid the game in and took her seat, popping in a piece of dynamite roll as she waited for everything to load. The system asked her a few questions for the game, the brightness, the difficulty, the interface. In the end, she just set everything to default and pressed start.

That was when everything went wrong.

A great jolt rushed up from her controller, tingling through her spine and slamming into her brain. She was sure her breath caught in her throat as the sensation began to overwhelm her.

And then she blinked. She blinked and she was no longer in her living room. Instead, she sat in a smoke filled room lined with chairs. An intercom dinged as the room shook periodically and a woman in a blue stewardess uniform walked down the aisle.

Was she on an airplane?

She blinked again and her ears were greeted to the sound of screams. Her lungs strained, her body felt weightless, and her ears rang as she suddenly found herself submerged in frigid water.

Luggage and wreckage sank rapidly around her as she struggled to the surface, every inch of her screaming for air. She broke the surface with what she was sure was the greatest gasp of air she had ever taken in her life, the air tainted by the smell of smoke.

Near everywhere she looked there was fire. Plane wreckage surrounded her and she did not hear a single cry for help.

Was she the only survivor? How did she even get there? Was she in the middle of the ocean?

These questions had to wait for when she wasn't at the risk of drowning or burning alive. So she swam to the only area that wasn't covered in debris and fire, a lighthouse that had remained miraculously untouched.

She called out, asking if anyone was there but she wasn't sure if her voice carried very far with how she was shivering. The door was open though and, hopefully, they wouldn't mind her going in where it wasn't raining and she could get warm.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the lighthouse was the giant statue looking down on her with grim features molded onto its bronze face. Beneath the man's face was a large red banner with golden letters.

'No Gods or Kings, Only Man'

The second thing she noticed was how the door slammed behind in her. She hoped it was just the wind.

She called out again, still shivering and unsure if she was heard. But she must have as a light had flared to life in the back of the building, leading to a staircase and what looked like a fancy elevator.

Were they leading her somewhere because they noticed what had happened? Or did they have other plans? They wouldn't bring her to them just to kill her, right?

Her hand near moved on its own, pulling the lever and jolting the room to life as it began trekking downwards. Outside the elevators window, she could see that she was actually sinking, fish swimming by carefully carved numbers telling her how far down she was going.

An old timey video began playing, taking up the view of the window. A man's voices spoke in smooth and impassioned tones as he decried the government and religion. Shaming them for holding back the artist and industrialist.

Taylor thought he was a bit full of himself but when she saw what he chose she couldn't help but feel awed. A great city, a metropolis, shined bright in neon underneath ocean waves. The elevator, or submarine, or whatever it was, was taking her on a long tour between buildings letting her witness great statues that rivaled the whales that swam between what would have been city lanes and jellyfish that glowed nearly as bright as the neon signs surrounding them.

She could hear other people talking now, on the radio that had apparently been next to her the entire time but she could barely find it in herself to pay attention to their words, too caught up within the great sights before her.

Her ride was pulling into a stop just then, gravitating to a series of rings that led into a building. She found herself excited, wondering just what lay within the wonder before her.

The first thing she saw was a man begging for his life as a woman gutted him alive.

-0-0-0-0-

Danny had gotten home late that night, nearing nine as he walked through the door. Not even a week and he was already breaking his promise to himself to not do that anymore, or at least not as much.

He hoped that Taylor wouldn't mind too much.

But as he walked in he found he didn't have to worry. Taylor seemed to have finally cracked open her gift and was having a grand time with it going by how intently she was looking at the screen.

He winced as the screen was covered in blood as her character seemed to die from what looked like impalement by drill. Maybe that game hadn't been such a great pick, it seemed way too violent. But Taylor didn't seem to mind as her character stepped out of the room it was transported to and came rushing out.

Well, at least she was enjoying it. He was worried that he had made a bad pick, and wasted a decent amount of money on the game system but now he felt better.

He yawned as he went up the stairs, "Try not to stay up too late, honey. You still got school tomorrow." Not that he minded too much, the school year was almost over and it wouldn't kill her to stay up a little past her bedtime.

AN:  
I hope you guys enjoyed. And please tell me what you thought.

Side note: What sets going to set this story apart is that I have a clear ending for it in mind and it's not the distant Scion fight.


	22. Chapter 22

A non Taylor PoV

Spiderlily

Winslow wasn't in bad shape per say, Lily had certainly seen worse when she lived in the city, but it was certainly rough. Graffiti lined the walls both inside and out, lights flickered in the hallways, and the bathrooms we're thick with the smell of smoke. A typical inner school really.

What really unnerved her, what made her take a step back, was the blatant racism. She knew Brockton Bay was home to one of the largest white supremacists groups in the country but it was one thing to know something intellectually and another to experience it. It had been an unpleasant surprise to walk in through the doors and see so many shaved heads, so many kids wearing the empire black and red walking down the halls. Most of them giving her side eye or out right glares as they passed.

And it wasn't just the visible gang members either but damn near every student, not just the white ones, that walked by did. She knew it wasn't what she was wearing, some fitted jeans and a purple top, and she knew she wasn't THAT good looking to garner so many stares. The reason, unfortunately, was because of the other major racist group in the story.

They were called the Asian Bad Boyz and they, obviously, consisted of only Asians. And they were recruiting, on the first day of the school. Like it was a school club.

"So, where's your family from?" The boy asked, skinny and wearing a lime green hoody despite the clinging heat. He gave her a smile, Lily gave him a frown

She was tempted to just say New York, annoyed by the common and rude question, but she knew that wouldn't be good enough here. He wasn't just some curious kid thinking he was being insightful. He wanted to know for a reason, he wanted to find a common ground between them. Whether it was to recruit her or to hit on her she didn't fully know, she could guess, but either way he was going to find himself disappointed.

"Japan." One word, terse and dismissive, she hoped it was obvious enough.

"Cool! Me too." He gave her another wide smile, "Do you know what part? My mom is from Kyushu." He said that like it was something to be proud of, something impressive to be work like a badge of honor. And she supposed it was, his mom survived after all.

"Nope." Again one word, terse and dismissive. His smile dimmed and his eyes sharpened just a bit.

"Hey now, I'm just trying to be friendly." He said, raising his hands up in a placating gesture. "And it's good to have friends in the Bay, they can help watch your back for when you're not exactly fitting in."

He gave a passing white boy in black jeans and a red t a pointed glance, she rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, thanks." She said, having enough and shouldering her backpack.

He blocked her way.

"Look I get it. You don't want to get involved with anything sketchy, don't want to be related to anyone criminal, I get it, I really do." He put a hand over his heart. "I used to be the same way, thought the exact same thing. But I promise you that's not what the Bad Boyz are about. We're about looking after each other because no one else in this city will."

She said pass him, not saying another word. She had half expected him to try and stop her again, to grab her wrist and make a vahge threat. He didn't. Instead her sighed, shaking his as she walked away, "You'll see that you need us soon enough and you'll be coming to us for help in the end. Everyone does."

Maybe transferring out of the New York was a mistake.

A mistake she would have to live with for over a year. An she couldn't just back out, not when she volunteered to come.

What a great start to her senior year. She sighed, she hoped that transfer to Arcadia better go through soon.

There was still time before homeroom so the halls were congested with friends catching up from a long summer break as their clicks reformed. Lily just wanted to get to her classroom and wait for the day to blow over, praying that the rest of her schoolmates weren't as annoying.

But getting to her classroom was easier said than done, especially when she wasn't familiar with the school. The crowds altered between currents, creating new obstacles with near every step. And judging by the "Welcome back Sophomores" banner she ended up getting lost in the wrong part of the school.

Frustrated as she was she actually groaned when a curly haired girl fell to the ground and spilled her books, disrupting what meager flow of traffic there was as scrambled to collect her papers. More annoyingly was that no one was stopping to help her, they just stepped over her lockers worth of notebooks and papers without more more than a second glance.

In the corner of her yet she could see a gaggle of girls giggling to themselves, pointing at the downed teen as if there were some grand joke. And maybe there was, to them. Lily didn't see anything funny.

Picking up a few notebooks as she passes she locked eyes with a of the girls. She was a redhead, the apparent center of the group, who stopped laughing as she noticed Lily's stare.

Lily didn't like bullies. she personally thought they were worse than most criminals because at least a crook had a reason for their cruelty. They wanted money, plain and simple. A bully on the other hand was cruel because they wanted to be, because they could, no other reason for that.

Lily kept her gaze on the redhead, not wavering until the other girl broke the staring match with a dismissive huff. She didn't so much as blink as the redhead sauntered away with her little friends, eyes trailing after them as they disappeared down the hallway.

"Um, can I have my books back?" A voice asked, dragging her away from her glaring. Lily looked at the speaker and than looked up. Even hunching as she was the girl was taller than her, a bit of a blow to Lily's ego but she accepted being short a long time ago.

"Oh, yeah, here." She stumbled a bit as she handed them over. "Does that happen often?" She asked with a jerk of her head where the other girls had walked away.

The tall girl blinked at her from behind her glasses, looking at Lily like she was so sorry of alien creature. "I guess…" she mumbled, shrinking down more into herself, still taller than Lily would ever be.

"Have you talked to a teacher about them? They do anything?" She asked, already knowing the answer but repeated her Saturday morning questions.

The other girl just snorted and .she wanted to didn't know how to get her feet to move.

"Figured." Lily mumbled as she looked the girl over.

Back in New York her friends accused her of having a case of White Knight Syndrome. That she was always looking for a damsel in distress to save. There might have been some truth in that. And why wouldn't there be?

She was a superhero after all.

She held her hand out, "I'm Lily. What's your name?"

The girl looked the hand over, cautiously taking it with a surprising squeeze. "Taylor." The damsel in distress said, offering her a small smile that had just a bit of hope peaking through.

An:

A Lily PoV romance au where she transfers to Brockton Bay earlier and meets an addokable loner. Or so she thought. A few months later she is dragged across the city by a constantly escalating girlfriend.

Story features:

Foster parents Ethan and Samantha, aka Assault and Battery

Muscle-sexual Taylor

Lily pretending to work at PRT giftshop as a cover for being a Ward and her friend/grilfriend visits as a surprise. Que rushing to keep cover

Lily having a fit when Sophia joins the Wards but uses opportunity to force PRT and social worker and school to keep closer eye on the probationary ward

Actually attacking Sophia after the Locker who is yelling at Emma for going through with the idea and likely ruining her probation

Meeting Danny

Discovering Taylor is a indie hero

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions?


	23. Chapter 23

A quick write up that's a bit depressing but has lots of potential I think.

Weaving Memories

Everything, oddly, was numb. She hadn't expected that, she expected pain, alot of it. When that ever growing dragon known as Lung opened his maw she expected nothing less. Yet she didn't feel a thing, not a one.

She could see her hair burn, smell her flesh sizzle, but she was numb to it all.

The only two things she was even remotely aware of were the night sky churning with clouds of smoke and her ever shrinking swarm of bugs. She called everything she could; ants, wasp, termites, mayflies, anything that crossed into her range and had them trickle forth on a single order.

Attack Lung.

Bite him in the eye, inject him with any toxin they had, pour into any hole they could wiggle into. She was not kind about it, she couldn't be. Not when he was going to kill kids, burn their little bodies like he did to her and her swarn.

Even if she just made a nuisance of herself she had to at least slow him down, keep him there until the real heroes arrived. If she did that, accomplish that one thing, she would be content.

She could die happy.

She felt something move through her swarm, something large, and felt her bugs die as it slammed into Lung. And then another one arrived, and another one. Three great big something, all dogpiling the gang leader with a frantic energy.

Taylor tried to move her head to see what the were but nothing cooperated. Her neck, her arms, her core none of them worked. They were, appropriately, dead.

"Hey! Don't think like that." A voice yelled just before a blonde head stuck itself into her vision wearing a domino mask. "Everything is going to be alright. Helps on the way, okay? Just hold on." That was nice of her to say, trying to cheer her up but Taylor was okay with the way things were.

It was okay.

It was fine.

"No, this is not fine! You hold on! You here that? That's Armsmaster racing his way here on that monster bike of his, just stay awake." The masked girl must have been a hero, listen to her and how much she wanted Taylor to live. If she knew how much of a waste of space Taylor was maybe she would have felt different.

"C'mon now, now negative thoughts. Stay awake, remember that, stay awake." or maybe she was a true hero, it was nice to hear someone caring in her last moments. Maybe she could finish what Taylor couldn't.

"... Ki…" Her throat, like everything else, wouldn't work right. Her tongue lulled to the side and her lungs barely exerted the air for that one sound, that was all she could say. But the hero understood, her green eyes moving rapidly as she took the syllable in.

"Ki, kids? You fought Lung because you thought… Jesus Christ." Her face was pale and horrified but she kept her voice steady enough, "The kids are fine. You saved them, gave them enough time to escape. You did amazing."

Good. Good. She did something, made a difference. Maybe is she was someone else she would have done more. If someone, anyone, anyone, else had her crappy powers maybe they'd have done better.

"Tattletale." A voice barked just out of her sight, "We need to go!"

"Give me a minute!"

She, Tattletale, definitely would have done better.

Tattletale stumbled into the loft, her stomach churning and her teammates right behind her. They made sound, questioned her, asked what was going on. If she was okay.

She wasn't. And they really didn't care.

Grue did in his way, same with Bitch, they both cared about their own. But didn't, wouldn't, care for the reason why she was so distraught. Why she felt burned to the core and struggled to breath.

She had died for them. Burned alive as she fought beyond death with a swarm of bugs, spiders, and even a few crabs to hold off the strongest cape in the city. She had thought she died fighting for children, that she was saving kids.

Tattletale laughed at that. If only she had known she was saving uncaring villains in so many senses of the words.

Her power told her so, inferring truths from their body language and the lines between their words. There was some regret and pity, from Grue in particular, but as Regent had so eloquently put it "Better her than me.". They all thought it.

Of course their crass attitude weren't the only reason she felt so it of sorts.

She made it to the bathroom as another wave of nausea washed in, vomit landing thickly in the sink as another glov passed her throat. She was shit of breath and when she was done she was left starting in the mirror. A mirror that held a reflection that looked paradoxically right and wrong simultaneously.

Her green eyes and blonde hair looked wrong, out of place. Her full lips and button nose were wrong, almost malformed to her mind. Her tits were definitely wrong, though happily so in that case.

Everything about her, bar her skin, should have been darker, longer, thinker. But they weren't. They were how they always been.

Sixteen years of memories said one thing and fifteen years said another.

Memories not her own wove and intertwined themselves into her mind, claiming they belonged there. Yelling that she lived those events.

That she grew up in a row house with a broken step instead of a modern manor. That she had lost her mother to a car accident instead of her brother to suicide.

That she had suffered through hours of that disgusting locker.

Her name wasn't Taylor Hebert's but her memories, the newer half of them, insisted that she was

She spat out the last tsst of vomit from her mouth, still eyeing herself in the mirror. Well, she wasn't going by her other birth name ethier. She was Lisa and she found the memories didn't mind that.

She needed to sort herself out, take in what was STILL happening to her mind. She needed time, asprin, and a nice long nap.

Though, she was forced to wonder as her new powers range increased towards her predecessor's, what was in Brockton Bay's water to make another monster like the Butcher.

An:

Basically, Taylor had a power like the Butcher's where her powers and mind are transferred to another parahuman, provisionally calling it The Weaver line. Two differences in this case being who gets the transfer (the last parahuman you think of before death is targeted by the Shard instead of killer) and that it's more of a memory/cognitive meld aka new body same memories (Think Doctor Who regeneration over schizophrenia). Though I'm debating if the voice in the head option would be more interesting or not.

Lisa's tenure as Weaver 2 is going to filled with subterfuge and intrigue as she uses her new spy network to pull free from Coil and undermine his operations.

Power interaction wise I'm seeing Taylor's multitasking helping the pain of Lisa's Tinker ability (either by handling the data overflow better or pushing the pain into the swarm) as well as giving her alot more data to work with via swarm sense. On the other hand she'd have alot more useless data streaming in, putting her in more tangents than usual.

I have two possible places for Lisa's death in my mind, Bakuda or Levithan, and three possible candidates for the next Weaver. One is LaserDream to put the Weaver line on a clear heroic bend, plus girl did work keeping Taylor alive in the Leviathan fight/she needs to be used more. Two is Dinah after Weaver realizes she's in Coils clutches and the little girl uses her new abilities to help her escape, plus my original title idea for this story was Think Tank. Three, Newter or another Case 53 to start a conspiracy unraveling story on Cauldron.

Thoughts? Opinions?


End file.
